Quyke History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

The ancient roots of the Quyke family name are in the Anglo-Saxon culture. The name Quyke 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 Quyke 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 Quyke family

The surname Quyke 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 Quyke family

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

Quyke Spelling Variations

One relatively recent invention that did much to standardize English spelling was the printing press. However, before its invention even the most literate people recorded their names according to sound rather than spelling. The spelling variations under which the name Quyke has appeared include Quick, Quicke, Quig, Quigg, Quegg and others.

Early Notables of the Quyke family

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

Migration of the Quyke family to Ireland

Some of the Quyke 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 Quyke family

At this time, the shores of the New World beckoned many English families that felt that the social climate in England was oppressive and lacked opportunity for change. Thousands left England at great expense in ships that were overcrowded and full of disease. A great portion of these settlers never survived the journey and even a greater number arrived sick, starving, and without a penny. The survivors, however, were often greeted with greater opportunity than they could have experienced back home. These English settlers made significant contributions to those colonies that would eventually become the United States and Canada. An examination of early immigration records and passenger ship lists revealed that people bearing the name Quyke arrived in North America very early: 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)