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Pronunciation | French: [ʒɑk] or [ʒak] Quebec French: [ʒɑɔ̯k] |
---|---|
Gender | Male |
Origin | |
Word/name | Hebrew |
Meaning | "He may/will/shall follow/heed/seize-by-the-heel/watch/guard/protect”, "Supplanter/Assailant", "May God protect" or "May he protect" [1] [2] |
Region of origin | French |
Other names | |
Related names | James Jaime Jacob Jack Jaques Jake Jackie Jacqueline Iago, Diego Tiago, Santiago Yaqub |
Ancient and noble French family names, Jacques, Jacq, or James are believed to originate from the Middle Ages in the historic northwest Brittany region in France, and have since spread around the world over the centuries. To date, there are over one hundred identified noble families related to the surname by the Nobility & Gentry of Great Britain & Ireland. [3]
The origin of this surname comes from the Latin 'Iacobus', which is associated with an unknown progenitor. [4]
A French knight returning from the Crusades in the Holy Lands probably adopted the surname from "Saint Jacques" (or "James the Greater"). [5] James the Greater was one of Jesus' Twelve Apostles, and is believed to be the first martyred apostle. Being endowed with this surname was an honor at the time and it is likely that the Church allowed it because of acts during the Crusades. Indeed, at this time, the use of biblical, Christian, or Hebrew names and surnames became very popular, and entered the European lexicon. [6]
Robert J., a Knight Crusader in 1248, was the first documented use of the surname. [7] Since then, several personalities who have glorified this surname: Guillaume, secretary of the Duke and auditor of the account in 1413; Thomas, the Archdeacon of Penthievre, the Prior of Pirmil, the Bishop of Leon in 1478, transferred to Dol in 1482, the ambassador of the duke to the Pope in 1486, who died in 1503, and is interred in his cathedral; Jean, the Canon of Dol and Prior of Lehon; François, Lord of the Ville-Carré, and the Provost Marshal in 1577; and Captain of Ploërmel, who prospered in Rennes in 1621; Bernard, a Rennes counsellor in 1653. [8] The widespread use of surnames was not evident in Europe until the mid-to-late 16th century, and prior usage was restricted to the noble class.[ citation needed ]
The use of surnames reached England during the conquest by an army of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French soldiers under William the Conqueror. The names became anglicised following the conquest. Over the centuries the spelling of the Jack surname has changed and developed as the French language became increasingly associated with high culture and status. [9] Several European kings have thus adopted the name. [10] Jack appears in the records spelled as Jacques, Jaques, Jack, Jacks, Jackes, Jakes, Jeeks, Jeke, Jeex, Jaquiss, Jaquez and Jaquis, with spelling variations even occurring in documents referring to the same person. There are several explanations for this situation. Latin, as a language used by educated men, and the language of the Anglo-Saxons both had a profound impact on the spelling and pronunciation of Norman names. On the other hand, the Norman language affected the development of English. As the English language developed from its Germanic roots into Middle English (which was influenced by Norman French) we find a period during which spelling was not standardised but roughly followed phonetic pronunciation. During this time names were spelled a variety of ways depending upon local dialects. Thus the surname, as well as the Anglo-Saxon names, were recorded in many different ways. [11]
Norman surnames like Jack are sometimes mistakenly considered French, though Normans (a term derived from "Northmen"), were of partial Viking origin. In 911, Vikings settled in their namesake region, Normandy, in current day France, where their language merged with that of locals. Throughout this period, England also endured Viking invasions, but the Anglo-Saxons successfully repelled them until 994. When the Danes ruled England, the Saxon royal family lived in Normandy and intermarried with the Duke of Normandy's family. William II, Duke of Normandy, could then claim the English throne when his cousin, Edward the Confessor, the restored Saxon king, died without an heir.
At the Battle of Hastings, William's army defeated their rival, King Harold Godwin, who was killed in the engagement. William could then claim the throne as Harold was elected and not a true member of the royal family. Despite the success of the foreign "conquest," English nobles were permitted to retain their land unless they rebelled. Any resisting English elite had their lands confiscated, and some of them fled into exile as a result. William granted lands to his followers and built commanding military strongpoint castles for defence of his realm. [12] By 1086, more than 92% of English nobles were replaced by William's followers. [13] One of these followers is believed to be an ancestor of the surname, Jack.
Historians have studied documents such as the Domesday Book, compiled by William I of England, in search of the first record of the Jack surname, and found it to be of Norman origin, first appearing in Yorkshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Nether Silton in the North Riding of the region. At the time of the Doomsday Book in 1086, Nether Silton was recorded as a village with a hall and the tenant-in-chief was the Count of Mortain. [14]
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Jagge, from Cambridgeshire dated 1251, in the "Chartulary of Ramsey Abbey", during the reign of King Henry III, who was known as "The Frenchman", 1216 – 1272, a witness in the Assize Court Rolls of Cambridgeshire in 1260. [15]
Katherine Jeke of Wikington in Stafford married Robert Farnham, Lord of Querndon in 1440. The family later acquired estates at Easby Abbey and Elvington. Of this latter branch, Sir Roger Jaques was Lord Mayor of York in 1639, and knighted by King Charles I. Sir John Jacques was also knighted by King Charles I in 1628. The family branched into Middlesex. Mary, daughter of Thomas Jacques of Leeds, married Robert Gosforth of Northumberland in 1818. The present seat of the family is at Easby Abbey. [16]
Before the usage of surnames became common, differentiating between generations also led to ‘son of Jack’ becoming Jackson, most notably with President Andrew Jackson of South Carolina. The Jackson family had immigrated from Ireland during the colonial period. Jackson led American forces at the Battle of New Orleans in the War of 1812. Due to favorable weather conditions, and his overall leadership, Britain suffered one of her worst defeats in their overseas colonial history. His fame as a general helped him to become the seventh US president later in his life. [17]
Jacques is the French equivalent of James , ultimately originating from the name Jacob.
Jacques is derived from the Late Latin Iacobus, from the Greek Ἰακώβος (Septuagintal Greek Ἰακώβ), from the Hebrew name Jacob יַעֲקֹב. [18] (See Jacob .) James is derived from Iacomus, a variant of Iacobus. [19]
As a first name, Jacques is often phonetically converted to English as Jacob, Jake (from Jacob), or Jack . Jack, from Jankin, is usually a diminutive of John but can also be used as a short form for many names derived from Jacob like Jacques. For example, in French "Jacky" is commonly used as a nickname for Jacques, in Dutch "Jack" is a pet form of Jacob or Jacobus along with the other nicknames "Sjaak", "Sjaakie" and "Jaak". In Swedish, it is "Jacke" for Jacob or Jakob and in German it is "Jackel" or "Jockel" for Jakob. [20]
Normandy is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy.
The Bayeux Tapestry is an embroidered cloth nearly 70 metres long and 50 centimetres tall that depicts the events leading up to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, led by William, Duke of Normandy challenging Harold II, King of England, and culminating in the Battle of Hastings. It is thought to date to the 11th century, within a few years of the battle. Now widely accepted to have been made in England, perhaps as a gift for William, it tells the story from the point of view of the conquering Normans and for centuries has been preserved in Normandy.
The Norman Conquest was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, French, Flemish, and Breton troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Conqueror.
Wace, sometimes referred to as Robert Wace, was a Medieval Norman poet, who was born in Jersey and brought up in mainland Normandy, ending his career as Canon of Bayeux.
Robert of Jumièges was the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury. He had previously served as prior of the Abbey of St Ouen at Rouen in Normandy, before becoming abbot of Jumièges Abbey, near Rouen, in 1037. He was a good friend and adviser to the king of England, Edward the Confessor, who appointed him bishop of London in 1044, and then archbishop in 1051. Robert's time as archbishop lasted only about eighteen months. He had already come into conflict with the powerful Earl Godwin and, while archbishop, made attempts to recover lands lost to Godwin and his family. He also refused to consecrate Spearhafoc, Edward's choice to succeed Robert as Bishop of London. The rift between Robert and Godwin culminated in Robert's deposition and exile in 1052.
The Battle of Tinchebray took place on 28 September 1106, in Tinchebray, Normandy, between an invading force led by King Henry I of England, and the Norman army of his elder brother Robert Curthose, the Duke of Normandy. Henry's knights won a decisive victory: they captured Robert, and Henry imprisoned him in England and then in Wales until Robert's death in 1134.
The Anglo-Normans were the medieval ruling class in the Kingdom of England following the Norman Conquest. They were primarily a combination of Normans, Bretons, Flemings, Frenchmen, indigenous Anglo-Saxons and Celtic Britons. A small number of Normans had earlier befriended future Anglo-Saxon king of England, Edward the Confessor, during his exile in his mother's homeland of Normandy in northern France. When he returned to England, some of them went with him; as such, there were Normans already settled in England before the conquest. Edward's successor, Harold Godwinson, was defeated by Duke William the Conqueror of Normandy at the Battle of Hastings, leading to William's accession to the English throne.
William Ætheling (Middle English:[ˈwiliəmˈaðəliŋɡ], Old English:[ˈæðeliŋɡ]; 5 August 1103 – 25 November 1120), commonly called Adelin was the son of Henry I of England by his wife Matilda of Scotland, and was thus heir apparent to the English throne. His early death without issue caused a succession crisis, now known in English history as the Anarchy.
The Kingdom of England was a sovereign state on the island of Great Britain from the early tenth century, when it was unified from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, which would later become the United Kingdom. The Kingdom of England was among the most powerful states in Europe during the medieval and early modern periods.
The British nobility is made up of the peerage and the (landed) gentry. The nobility of its four constituent home nations has played a major role in shaping the history of the country, although the hereditary peerage now retain only the rights to stand for election to the House of Lords, dining rights there, position in the formal order of precedence, the right to certain titles, and the right to an audience with the monarch.
James is an English language given name that is the Greek derivative of the name Jacob, most commonly used for males.
Pascoe is a Cornish given name and surname which means "Easter children" from the Cornish language Pask, cognate of Latin Pascha ("Easter"). Pascoe is a Cornish pet form of the name Pascal, introduced by the Norman knights into England after the Conquest started in 1066, and derives from the Latin paschalis, which means "relating to Easter" from Latin Pascha ("Easter"). Alternative spellings are Pasco, Pascow and Pascho. Pascoe is the most common Cornish name.
Reynolds is a surname in the English language. Among the earliest recorded use of the surname is from the early 11th century.
William I of England has been depicted in a number of modern works.
de Lucy or de Luci is the surname of an old Norman noble family originating from Lucé in Normandy, one of the great baronial Anglo-Norman families which became rooted in England after the Norman conquest. The first records are about Adrian de Luci who went into England after William the Conqueror. The rise of this family might have been due to Henry I of England, although there are no historical proofs that all de Lucys belonged to the same family.
The Normans were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Francia followed a series of raids on the French northern coast mainly from what is now Denmark, although some also sailed from Norway and Sweden. These settlements were finally legitimized when Rollo, a Scandinavian Viking leader, agreed to swear fealty to King Charles III of West Francia following the siege of Chartres in 911, leading to the formation of the County of Rouen. This new fief, through kinship in the decades to come, would expand into what came to be known as the Duchy of Normandy. The Norse settlers, whom the region as well as its inhabitants were named after, adopted the language, religion, social customs and martial doctrine of the West Franks but their offspring nonetheless retained many of their traits, notably their mercenary tendencies and their fervour for adventures. The intermixing between Norse folk and native West Franks in Normandy produced an ethnic and cultural "Norman" identity in the first half of the 10th century, an identity which continued to evolve over the centuries.
Luce is an American, English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, French and Italian surname. It is also a French and Italian feminine given name, variant of Lucia and Lucy, or masculine name, variant of Luc. Meaning of given name Luce is "light".
Leroy, also Leeroy, LeeRoy, Lee Roy, LeRoy, Le Roy or Roy is both a male given name and a surname.
Sussex in the High Middle Ages includes the history of Sussex from the Norman Conquest in 1066 until the death of John, King of England, considered by some to be the last of the Angevin kings of England, in 1216. It was during the Norman period that Sussex achieved its greatest importance in comparison with other English counties. Throughout the High Middle Ages, Sussex was on the main route between England and Normandy, and the lands of the Anglo-Norman nobility in what is now western France. The growth in Sussex's population, the importance of its ports and the increased colonisation of the Weald were all part of changes as significant to Sussex as those brought by the neolithic period, by the Romans and the Saxons. Sussex also experienced the most radical and thorough reorganisation of land in England, as the Normans divided the county into five tracts of lands called rapes. Although Sussex may have been divided into rapes earlier in its history, under the Normans they were clearly administrative and fiscal units. Before the Norman Conquest Sussex had the greatest concentration of lands belonging to the family of Earl Godwin. To protect against rebellion or invasion, the scattered Saxon estates in Sussex were consolidated into the rapes as part of William the Conqueror's 'Channel march'.
The Pilsbury family is a British family of Anglo-Norman origins. The family rose to its highest prominence within the counties of Derbyshire and Staffordshire within the United Kingdom and Minnesota, New England and Massachusetts within the United States of America.