Queke History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancestry of the name Queke dates from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It comes from when the family lived in the county of Devon where they worked as dairy farmers. The surname is both local and occupational, since it describes where the original bearers lived and what work they did. The surname was originally derived from the Old English word cwic. Occupational names that were derived from the common trades of the medieval era transcended European cultural and linguistic boundaries. In this case the surname Queke was originally derived from the principal object associated with the activity of the original bearer; dairy farming. These types of occupational surnames are called metonymic surnames.

Early Origins of the Queke family

The surname Queke was first found in Devon where this name occurred amongst the burgesses and churchwardens of Tiverton. 1 The name was also frequented in Cornwall where the name was derived from the Cornish word guîk, meaning a village. 2

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had only one listing and was with a very early spelling: Robert Quic in Cambridgeshire. The Close Rolls listed William Quykkc, 14 Henry VI and John Quicke, Close Rolls, 3 Edward IV. 3 For these two latter entries, the reader should note that early rolls used the date of the king's reign as in 14 Henry VI, which meant during the 14th year of King Henry VI's reign.

Early History of the Queke family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Queke research. Another 84 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1636, 1650, 1653, 1706 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Queke History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Queke Spelling Variations

Spelling variations in names were a common occurrence before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago. In the Middle Ages, even the literate spelled their names differently as the English language incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other European languages. Many variations of the name Queke have been found, including Quick, Quicke, Quig, Quigg, Quegg and others.

Early Notables of the Queke family

Another 36 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Queke Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Queke family to Ireland

Some of the Queke family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 51 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Queke family

Families began migrating abroad in enormous numbers because of the political and religious discontent in England. Often faced with persecution and starvation in England, the possibilities of the New World attracted many English people. Although the ocean trips took many lives, those who did get to North America were instrumental in building the necessary groundwork for what would become for new powerful nations. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America bore the name Queke, or a variant listed above: Richard Quick, who arrived in Virginia in 1651; Elizabeth Quicke settled with her husband in St. Christopher in 1634; Thomas Quicke was banished to Barbados in 1685.

Citations +

Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)