Origin | |
---|---|
Word/name | Old English, Old Saxon, Gaeilge |
Meaning | derived from various Germanic verbs meaning "to torment" |
Region of origin | England, Germany, Ireland |
Other names | |
Variant form(s) | Tukker, Toher |
Frequency & comparison: [1] |
Tucker is a surname of disputed origin.
The origin of the name is not entirely certain, but since it has a long history as a surname on the continent, as in England and from thereon, also in the United States, it presumably has the same Saxon roots.
Recorded as both Tucker and Tooker, the derivation of the English occupational surname comes from the Old English, pre-7th century verb tucian, meaning "to torment". It would have been for a fuller, also known as a "walker", one who softened freshly woven cloth by beating and tramping on it in water. "Tucker" was the usual term in the southwest of England (and South Wales as well), "walker" in the west and north, and "fuller" in the southeast and East Anglia.
The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of one Baldwin Tuckere in the 1236 Records of Battle Abbey in Sussex. [2] Nevertheless, one should not be too hasty to assign English origin to bearers of the surname.
Linguistically, the word tucker is assumed to be related to the German Tucher, [3] which means "cloth-maker". In the 15th century, the bulk of the German cotton trade was in the hands of the Tucher von Simmelsdorf family in Nürnberg, where Tucher Castle still stands.
In Old Dutch, which is closely related to Old German, the word tuch was often used as a verb to mean "to tug sharply" (see above). The similar linguistic origin of these words is also recognizable in the English etymology. [4]
In the Netherlands the earliest known Tuckers are the brothers Jan and Willam die Tucker, both vassals of the Lord of Culemborg in 1358 [5] who was parented to the Lord of Breda where Jan Tucker sold a house in 1368 on the Hagedijk Road to Antwerp in the city of Breda. [6] Breda held a local monopoly on the wool trade in those days. [7] Over the centuries the Dutch form of the surname has been spelled both Tucker and Tukker.
Tucker can also be an Anglicized form of the Irish surname O'Tuachair, [8] which first appeared in the Annals of Ulster in 1126 AD as Uá Tuathchair. [9] It is not uncommon to see Anglicized representations of Irish surnames, and myriad examples may be cited. According to Patrick Woulfe, in his book Irish Names and Surnames [10] it is the name of two distinct septs; one from the Irish Midlands region known as Ely-O'Carroll (which includes parts of County Tipperary and County Offaly), and another from County Mayo. These findings were confirmed by the first Chief Herald of Ireland, Edward MacLysaght, and published in his book More Irish Families. [11]
Variants of the Irish surname include Toher, Togher, and Tougher.
Luke is a male given name, and less commonly, a surname.
Blake is a surname which originated from Old English. Its derivation is uncertain; it could come from "blac", a nickname for someone who had dark hair or skin, or from "blaac", a nickname for someone with pale hair or skin. Another theory, presumably in the belief it is a Welsh patronymic in origin, for which there is no evidence, was that it is a corruption of "Ap Lake", meaning "Son of Lake".
Black is a surname which can be of either English, Scottish, Irish or French origin. In the cases of non-English origin, the surname is likely to be an Anglicisation. Notable persons with that surname include:
White is a surname either of English or of Scottish and Irish origin, the latter being an anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic MacGillebhàin, "Son of the fair gillie" and the Irish "Mac Faoitigh" or "de Faoite". It is the seventeenth most common surname in England. In the 1990 United States Census, "White" ranked fourteenth among all reported surnames in frequency, accounting for 0.28% of the population. By 2000, White had fallen to position 20 in the United States and 22nd position by 2014
Kenny is a surname, a given name, and a diminutive of several different given names.
Cooper is a surname.
Cole is a surname of English origin, and is also now used as a given name. It is of Middle English origin, and its meaning is "swarthy, coal-black, charcoal".
Bailey is an English or Scottish surname. It is first recorded in Northumberland, where it was said to have been changed from Balliol due to the unpopularity of Scottish king John Balliol. There appears to be no historical evidence for this, and Bain concludes that the earliest form was Baillie or Bailli . The origin of the name is most likely from Anglo-Norman bailli, the equivalent of bailiff; bailie remains a regional Scottish variant of the term bailiff. Alternatively, it has been suggested that the Norman name may have been locational, derived from Bailleul-En-Vimeu in Normandy.
The surname Collins has a variety of likely origins in Britain and Ireland:
Rogers is an English patronymic surname deriving from the given name of Roger commonly used by the Normans and meaning "son of Roger". Variants include Rodgers.
Tate is an English surname.
Gavin is a Celtic male given name. It is the Scottish variation of the medieval Welsh name Gawain, meaning "God send" or "white hawk". Sir Gawain was a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is an epic poem connected with King Arthur's Round Table. Gawain beheads the Green Knight who promptly replaces his head and threatens Gawain an identical fate the same time next year. Decapitation figures elsewhere: the Italian name Gavino is the name of an early Christian martyr who was beheaded in 300 AD, his head being thrown in the Mediterranean Sea only later reunited and interred with his body.
James is a surname in the French language, and in the English language originating from the given name, itself derived from Old French James, variant form of Jacme, Jame, from Late Latin Jacomus, variant form of Latin Jacobus, itself from Hebrew Yaʿaqōḇ. Notable people with the surname include:
Gray is a surname of English and Scottish origins.
Carter is a family name, and also may be a given name. Carter is of Irish, Scottish and English origin and is an occupational name given to one who transports goods by cart or wagon and ultimately of Celtic derivation from the word "cairt" meaning cart, which is still used in Gaelic. This Celtic term has roots in the Proto-Indo-European word "kars" or "kart", which referred to a wheeled vehicle. It may also appear as an English reduced form of the Irish and Scottish Gaelic derived McCarter or the Scottish-Gaelic Mac Artair with Mc meaning "son of." Its appearance and pronunciation as Carter may also be the Anglicized form of the Irish Mac Artúir, Cuirtéir, Cartúir, Cartúr, or Ó Cuirtéir. The name is also related to the Latin carettarius meaning "cart driver" which was influenced by Celtic terminology and evolved into Norman French as "caretier." In Gaelic, the word "cairt" retained the meaning of "cart," and is used in a context that was familiar to and influenced by its earlier Celtic roots.
The surname Burns has several origins. In some cases, it derived from the Middle English or Scots burn, and originated as a topographic name for an individual who lived by a stream. In other cases the surname is a variant form of the surname Burnhouse, which originated as a habitational name, derived from a place name made up of the word elements burn and house. In other cases the surname Burns originated as a nickname meaning "burn house". In other cases, the surname Burns is an Anglicised form of the Irish Ó Broin, which means "descendant of Bran". In some cases the surname Burns is an Americanized form of the Jewish surname Bernstein, which is derived from the German bernstein ("amber").
Robinson is an English language patronymic surname, originating in England. It means "son of Robin ". There are similar surname spellings such as Robison and Robeson. Robinson is the 15th-most common surname in the United Kingdom. According to the 1990 United States Census, Robinson was the twentieth most frequently encountered surname among those reported, accounting for 0.23% of the population.
Ward is a surname of either Old English or Old Gaelic origin, common in English-speaking countries.
Sparks is an English surname of Old English origin.
Webb is an English and Scottish surname meaning weaver of cloth.