Origins of the name 'Talpash'

Surnames:

Before the 1700s, few families had surnames. Everyone was simply called by their Christian names. However, by the mid-1700s the need for standing armies necessitated retaining records of military service. There were census forms and taxation rolls, so people were compelled to register a surname. Most surnames were registered as "son of -," or after a person's trade or physical characteristic. Some families were named by the town or country of origin.

Cartographers will note that there was an old town "Talpas" which appears on many old maps, including one titled "Ukraina quae et Terra Cossacorvm cum vicunis Walachiae, Moldaviae, Minorisq Tartariae Provinciis" from Atlas, published by Johann Baptista Homann in Nurnberg in 1712. On this, and other similar maps of the period, the town of Talpas is located NNE of Timisoara in Transylvania. Today this town carries a different name, and is in Romania near the border of Hungary.

It is possible that the family which had migrated from the Hungarian town of Talpas came to have their surname registered as such.

Talpas in Hungarian means "sole of foot." "Foot soldier" or infantryman is an obvious derivation from that word. Hungarian folklore records legends of big, powerful foot soldiers (talpas) acclaimed for defending their king from his enemies. 

The origin of the Northern (Lemko) branch is unknown. Legend has it that long ago a Hungarian Jew married a gentile against the wishes of their respective families. The young couple was disowned by both families, so they went north to start a new life among the Lemkos in the Carpathian hills. This website is primarily devoted to the Lemko branch of the family.

External Links:

Lemko