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TOWNES Family History

Recorded in many forms including Tawn, Tawne, Toon, Toone, Toones, Town, Towns, Townes, Towner, the latter meaning 'of the town', and the tautological Towen and Towens, this interesting surname is of English origin. It is a topographical name for someone who lived in a 'Ton', the centre of a large village or settlement, as opposed to a Viking outlying village which was often described as a throp or thorp. The derivation is from the Old English pre 7th century word "tun" meaning "settlement", through the later 'tune' to the medieval word of 'town'.