English: nickname for a respectable or decent person or else a good-looking one both these senses belonging to Middle English tall (Old English getæl ‘swift prompt’). The modern sense ‘of high stature’ did not develop until the end of the 16th century; the usual Middle English equivalents were Long and High . See Talman . English (Devon): habitational name from Talle in Payhembury (Devon) which is recorded as Tale in 1236. The place takes its name from the river Tale perhaps named with Old English (ge)tæl ‘quick swift’. West African (mainly Senegal Burkina Faso and Mali; also Guinea): Tukulor name apparently derived from Arabic ṭālib ‘seeker (of knowledge)’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022