'tallykeeper' originates from English, specifically composed of 'tally' (from Old French 'taille') and 'keeper' (from Old English 'cēpan'), where 'taille' meant 'to cut/notch' and 'cēpan' meant 'to hold or keep'.

'tally' changed from Old French 'taille' (a cut or notch used for counting) into Middle English forms such as 'tali'/'tally', and combined with the Old English-derived 'keeper' to become the modern English compound 'tallykeeper'.

Initially, 'tally' referred to a cut or notch used to record numbers; over time it came to mean a recorded count or score, and 'tallykeeper' came to mean 'one who keeps such records'.