Tonge Family History

English (Lancashire): habitational name primarily from Tonge (Lancashire) but also from other places similarly named including Tong (Yorkshire), Tonge (Kent), Tong in Headcorn (Kent), Tonge (Leicestershire), and Tong (Shropshire). Some of these places appear to be named from Middle English tong(e) ‘tongue’ (Old English tunge) and the surname may occasionally be topographic for someone who lived on a tongue-like projection of land; others are ultimately from Old English t(w)ang(e) ‘tongs fork (of a river)’.

German: from a short form of the personal name Anton (see Anthony).

English: nickname from Middle English tonge ‘tongs forceps’ (Old English tang(e)) for someone who made or used tongs or forceps or alternatively from Middle English tong(e) ‘tongue’ (Old English tunge) perhaps for a chatterer or scold.