Bockings History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Bockings is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in a village of Bocking, in the county of Essex near Braintree

Early Origins of the Bockings family

The surname Bockings was first found in Essex, at Bocking, a parish, in the union of Braintree, hundred of Hinckford. 1

However, one of the first records of the family was Ralph Bocking (d. 1270), a Dominican friar, stated to have been a native of Chichester. "He was the private confessor of Richard Wych, who held the see of Chichester from 1245 till his death in 1253. " 2

Early History of the Bockings family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bockings research. Another 269 words (19 lines of text) covering the years 1203, 1273, 1337, 1500, 1533 and 1534 are included under the topic Early Bockings History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bockings Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Bockings family name include Bocking, Boking, Bokings, Bockyng, Bockinges and others.

Early Notables of the Bockings family

Notables of this surname at this time include: Edward Bocking, (d. 1534) a Benedictine monk famous for his opposition to King Henry VIII. He was the leading supporter of Elizabeth Barton, the nun of Kent. "A few months after Henry VIII's marriage with Anne Boleyn (28 May 1533), the...
Another 49 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Bockings Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Bockings family

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Bockings surname or a spelling variation of the name include: Richard Bocking, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1741.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print