This interesting surname is a variant of Tinker, which is of early medieval English origin, and is from an occupational name for a mender of pots and pans. The name is derived from the Middle English (1200 - 1500) "tink(l)er", of uncertain etymology. Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. Travelling pedlars were also known by this name because they made their approach known by tinking, by either ringing or making a tinkling noise. The mending of pots and pans does not seem to have been the particular pursuit of the medieval tinker, he was a general pedlar. In the time of King Edward V1 (1548 - 1554) a law was passed stating that, "No person or persons commonly called Pedler, Tynker, or Pety Chapman, shall wander or go from one towne to another ... and sell pynnes, poyntes laces, gloves, knyves, glasses, tapes, or any suche kynde of wares whatsoever or gather connye skynnes". In the modern idiom the surname can be found as Tinker and Tinkler. Recordings from London Church Registers include: the marriage of Robert Tinkler and Mary Browne on February 26th 1684, at St. Katherine by the Tower, and the marriage of William Tinkler and Ann Parsons on July 18th 1742, at St. Michael's, Cornhill. The family Coat of Arms is on a silver shield a black chevron between three attires of a stag affixed to the scalp, the Crest being a blue cross crosslet. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert le Tinker, which was dated 1243, witness in the "Assize Court Rolls of Somerset", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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