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Origins Available: |
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The surname Ecob was first found in the West Riding of Yorkshire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor of Echope (the earlier Saxon name). After the Battle of Hastings in 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, having prevailed over King Harold, granted most of Britain to his many victorious Barons. It was not uncommon to find a Baron, or a Bishop, with 60 or more Lordships scattered throughout the country. These he gave to his sons, nephews and other junior lines of his family and they became known as under-tenants. They adopted the Norman system of surnames which identified the under-tenant with his holdings so as to distinguish him from the senior stem of the family. After many rebellious wars between his Barons, Duke William, commissioned a census of all England to determine in 1086, settling once and for all, who held which land. He called the census the Domesday Book, 1 indicating that those holders registered would hold the land until the end of time. Hence, conjecturally, the surname is descended from the tenant of the lands of Eccup, held by the Count of Mortain and his under-tenant, Richard de Surdeval, who was recorded in the Domesday Book census of 1086. Richard de Surdeval was from Surdeval, in Manche in the arrondisement of Mortain, in the canton of Surdeval in Normandy. He received important charters of Hooton Pagnall and the Brus fee, part of which he sold to the Paynells as recorded in the Early Charters of Yorkshire (vol.vi,p 4). Richard de (Surdeval) Eccup was apparently a relation of the Count of Mortain, probably a younger son, or natural son. At the Domesday, Eccup was a large village north of Leeds. It now has a reservoir.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Ecob research. Another 93 words (7 lines of text) covering the year 1443 is included under the topic Early Ecob History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Norman surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are largely due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The introduction of Norman French to England, as well as the official court languages of Latin and French, also had pronounced influences on the spelling of surnames. Since medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings. The name has been spelled Eccup, Echope, Egcope, Egcup, Eccup, Eccope, Hecope, Ecop, Eckup, Eggup, Ecob, Eccop and many more.
More information is included under the topic Early Ecob Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.