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A quick look-up in *A Dictionary of Surnames* (Hanks & Hodges) finds the name "Talmadge" under the entry for "Tollemache". The definition given is:
Tollemache: English : apparently a metonymic occupational name for an itinerant merchant, from Old French "talemasche" knapsack (of uncertain origin.
Variations: Tallemach, Tallamach, Talma(d)ge, Tammage. (The form "Talmadge" has also been used as an Anglicized form of one or more like-sounding Jewish surnames.)
Tollemache: English : apparently a metonymic occupational name for an itinerant merchant, from Old French "talemasche" knapsack (of uncertain origin.
Variations: Tallemach, Tallamach, Talma(d)ge, Tammage. (The form "Talmadge" has also been used as an Anglicized form of one or more like-sounding Jewish surnames.)
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I've a friend who has Talmage as a first name, so either there was a twisted sense of humour involved, or it is also a first name.
If you're wondering why a twisted sense of humor it won't be the first time a Jewish kid has been given something like Meyer Meyer, or a couple of other real examples I know.
If you're wondering why a twisted sense of humor it won't be the first time a Jewish kid has been given something like Meyer Meyer, or a couple of other real examples I know.
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