"Tait was origionally a nickname. Bede(Hist. Eccles.,ii,9) tells us that Ethelberga, daughter of Elthelbert, King of Kent, was called 'Tate'(fem.) and nine individuals named 'Tata'(masc.) are recorded in Birch's Cartularium Saxonicum. The word meaning 'glad,''cheerful,' occurs in 'Old Norse', as 'teitr', and as a proper name, 'Teitr', occurs several times in the Icelandic Landnamabok. A debt due by the king is recorded, paid to Thomas Dictus Tayt in 1329, (ER.,I,p.211). Between 1362 and 1370, there are a number of entries of payment of pension to John Tayt, Clerk, who appears to have been connected with the hospital of Montrose (ibid.,n,p.115, 359, etc.) Alexander Tayt was burgess of Edinburgh, 1381 (Egidii,p.22). Adam Tayte who had safe conduct to travel in England in 1424, may be the Adam Tayt, scutifer, a charter witness in Paisley, 1432, (Bain,III,970; RMP.,p.370). Andrew Tait was master of the Flesher Craft of Edinburgh, 1490, (Colston, Incorporated Trades, p.54), aand another Andrew Tayt was one of the preambulators of the boundries of Yochry and Achbrady, 1492, (RAA.,n, 339). Robert Tait was tenant of the land of Wydsyd in 1431 (Rental), Christie Tett and Donald Taitt were tenants under the Abbey of Kelso, 1567, (Kelso, p. 528). The name also appears in Orkney in 1575, (Oppressions,p. 7) A family of the name were proprietors of the Barony of Cherrytrees in 1605 (Trials, II, p.475), and Tait of Prin, an ancient family in Tweeddale, ended in two heiresses, Margaret and Anne, one of whom married a Horsburgh of the Ilk. Archibald Campbell Tait (1811-1822), born in Edinburgh, and became Archbishop of Canterbury.

CREDITS: This information is an excerpt from SURNAMES of SCOTLAND by George F. Black, PHD., Pub. Jan 1946 and DICTIONARY of SURNAMES by Patrick Hanks & Flavia Hodges, Oxford University Press, 1988.

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Scottish Border Families