Telles
A surname of several possible origins, often treated as a patronymic or regional form in Romance-language areas.
The #6,493 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 59,034 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The excerpts do not give a single clear origin for Telles, and the name may have more than one source depending on the family. In Romance-language contexts it can be a surname based on a place-name or on a personal name, and in some cases it may be related to forms built from the medieval name Tello/Telle or from local toponymic forms. The historical material also shows medieval spellings such as Curteles/Tel(l)es-like forms in northern France, which suggests that similar-looking surnames arose in more than one region.
History
The name appears in historical records in France and elsewhere in forms that are not always easy to separate from one another, so its history is best treated cautiously. In Iberian usage, Telles is a well-attested surname form, and in many families it likely spread through ordinary hereditary surname use rather than from one single origin point. Because the excerpts are incidental and noisy, they do not support one exclusive derivation for all bearers.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because similar-looking forms occur in several Romance languages, Telles is one of those surnames that can have different local histories even when the spelling is the same.
From the historical record
“Courtauld, probably from Cour- telles or CortL-ilk.*, near Evreiux. Hugh de Cortilz aud Gilltbcrt de Curteles occur in Xormaudy 1180- O.'i (Mag. Jiot. Scac). John aud l!o-"r de Curtelo^ in England, c. 1-J7J (IJol. Hundr.).”
— The Norman People and their existing descendants in the British dominions and the United States