Timothy Family History

English and Welsh: from the New Testament Greek personal name Timotheos from Greek timē ‘honor’ + theos ‘God’. This was the name of a companion of Saint Paul who according to tradition was stoned to death for denouncing the worship of Diana in Ephesus.

This was not in general use in England as a personal name until Tudor times so insofar as it is an English surname at all it is a late formation (e.g. in Wales where surnames came into use only relatively recently).

In North America this surname has in some cases also absorbed some of the various Greek cognate patronymics and other derivatives such as Timotheatos.

Irish: adoption of the English personal name as an equivalent of Tumulty.