Pococke Surname History

Origins Available:
England
Scotland

Pococke is a name whose history dates far back into the mists of early British times to the days of the Anglo-Saxon tribes. It is a name for a proud or gaudy person. The surname Pococke is derived from the various Old English words pecok, pacok, pocok, pehen, and pohen, which all mean peacock. 1

Early Origins of the Pococke family

The surname Pococke was first found in Essex where Pecoc was name of a Domesday tenant in Essex in 1086. 2 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 proved the widespread use of the name throughout ancient Britain: Geoffrey Pokoc, Cambridgeshire; Hugh Pokok, Oxfordshire; and Robert Pokoc, Lincolnshire. 1 In Somerset, Walter Pokok and Roger Pokok were listed there 1 Edward III (during the first year of the reign of King Edward III.) 3

Early Cornish records show Roger Paucoc and Roger Paucoc, Pecoc in the Pipe Rolls of 1194. Richard Pocok was listed in the Assize Rolls for Somerset in 1225 and Simon Pacock was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Yorkshire in 1297. Robert Pecok (Paycock) was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Essex in 1327. 4

This name is "found in several parts of England, but its great home is in the North Riding [of Yorkshire], especially in the districts of Richmond and Northallerton. It was represented as Pocok, Pokoc, Pokok, and Pecock in the 13th century in Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Cambridgeshire, and Norfolk; in the last two counties it is still well established. Speaking generally, this name characterizes the eastern half of England." 5

In Scotland, the first entry of the family in interesting: "A gift of six pennies annually was made from the toft of Roger Pacok in Annan in thirteenth century." 6 This source goes on to note "Andreas Pacok was presbyter and notary public in the diocese of St. Andrews, 1311-1321, and the name appears frequently in the parish register of Dunfermline, 1561-1700, as Paycok (1564) and Paicok (1572). Thomas Pacok had grant of a third part of the land of Quhitfeilde in the barony of Lyntounrothrike in 1378, and another Thomas Pacok was elevated to chaplain in 1426. " 6

Early History of the Pococke family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pococke research. Another 237 words (17 lines of text) covering the years 1510, 1512, 1536, 1585, 1591, 1596, 1598, 1601, 1604, 1631, 1652, 1673, 1682, 1691, 1706, 1707, 1714, 1718, 1724, 1725, 1733, 1738, 1754, 1755, 1756, 1757, 1792, 1843 and 1911 are included under the topic Early Pococke History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pococke Spelling Variations

The English language only became standardized in the last few centuries; therefore,spelling variations are common among early Anglo-Saxon names. As the form of the English language changed, even the spelling of literate people's names evolved. Pococke has been recorded under many different variations, including Pocock, Pococke and others.

Early Notables of the Pococke family

Notables of this surname at this time include:

Edward Pococke (1604-1691), was an English Orientalist and biblical scholar. Born in Oxford, in a house near the Angel Inn in the parish of St. Peter-in-the-East, his father, Edward Pocock, matriculat...

Pococke migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that shrouded England made the far away New World an attractive prospect. On cramped disease-ridden ships, thousands migrated to those British colonies that would eventually become Canada and the United States. Those hardy settlers that survived the journey often went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Analysis of immigration records indicates that some of the first North American immigrants bore the name Pococke or a variant listed above:

Pococke Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Richard Pococke, who landed in Roxbury, Massachusetts in 1638 7
Phill Pococke, who arrived in Maryland in 1676 7
Sarah Pococke, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1682 7

Contemporary Notables of the name Pococke (post 1700) +

Richard Pococke LL.B., (d. 1719), English rector of Colmer, Hampshire, from 1660 to his death in 1719, grandfather of Richard Pococke, the traveller
Richard Pococke (1704-1765), English traveller from Southampton

Citations +

Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
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)