Kok History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

Bavaria, Germany is the ancestral home of the Kok family. The Kok surname is derived from the Latin word "coquus," which denotes the "art of cookery." Kok was originally an occupational name, for a cook.

Early Origins of the Kok family

The surname Kok was first found in Bavaria, where the family made a considerable contribution to the feudal society which shaped modern Europe.

Early History of the Kok family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Kok research. Another 296 words (21 lines of text) covering the years 1544, 1552, 1637, 1688, 1694, 1738, 1747, 1748, 1769, 1815 and 1852 are included under the topic Early Kok History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kok Spelling Variations

In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Kok include Koch, Koche, Kochen, Koech, Koeche, Koechen, Coch, Coche, Cochen, Coech, Coeche, Coechen, Koechle, Koechly, Koechli, Kock, Kochs, Kocks and many more.

Early Notables of the Kok family

Prominent among members of the name Kok in this period include Conrad Reinhold von Koch, an advisor on justice at the royal Schleswig-Holstein court, who was knighted in 1769. He was born in 1738 as the son of a chamberlain of the court at Darmstadt and was the brother of the famous scholar and professor of state law at the University of Strassburg...
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Kok Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Kok Ranking

In Netherlands, the name Kok is the 25^th most popular surname with an estimated 23,322 people with that name. 1 However, in South Africa, the name Kok is ranked the 498^th most popular surname with an estimated 14,437 people with that name. 2

Kok migration to the United States +

The great European flow of migration to North America, which began in the middle of the 17th century and continued into the 20th century, was particularly attractive to those from Bavaria who wished to escape either poverty or religious persecution. For many Bavarian tenant farmers, the chance to own their own land was a major incentive. So the widespread colonization of the United States began in 1650, when many immigrants from Germany settled in pockets in Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. In Canada, German settlement centered in Ontario and the prairie Among those of this surname listed in various historical records were:

Kok Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Albert Kok, aged 11, who arrived in New York, NY in 1846 3
Harm Kok, aged 50, who landed in New York, NY in 1846 3
Hermina Kok, aged 20, who arrived in New York, NY in 1846 3
Jan Kok, aged 19, who landed in New York, NY in 1846 3
Janna Kok, aged 47, who arrived in New York, NY in 1846 3
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Kok (post 1700) +

Peter Kok (b. 1919), American Republican politician, Member of Michigan State House of Representatives, 1965-78 4

Citations +

"Most Common Last Names in Netherlands." Forebears, https://forebears.io/netherlands/surnames
"Most Common Last Names in South Africa." Forebears, https://forebears.io/south-africa/surnames
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html