Nokes History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
The name Nokes is thought to come from the Middle English phrase "atten okes," meaning "at the oaks;" as such it was likely originally a name for someone who lived by some oak trees. 1
"Aten Oke and Atten Oke were the original forms. When the preposition began to be dropped from this class of surnames, the final N in this instance adhered to the designation of the tree, and we obtained the form Noake, since pluralized into Noakes." 2
Early Origins of the Nokes family
The surname Nokes was first found in Buckinghamshire where they held a family seat. This ancient Saxon name in derived from common usage from atte en Oak, a place designation, which originated in those counties surrounding London known as the home counties. including Sussex, Essex, and others. 3 4
By 1326 the name was well entrenched in that region and Richard Attenok is recording with estates in Buckingham in 1275, and was succeeded by Richard Noke. 1
John atte Noke was found in the Subsidy Rolls for Sussex in 1327 and Robert atte Nokes was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for Worcestershire in 1332. 5
Early History of the Nokes family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Nokes research. Another 43 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1332, 1662, 1690, 1692, 1719 and 1737 are included under the topic Early Nokes History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Nokes Spelling Variations
Spelling variations of this family name include: Nokes, Noakes, Knoakes, Noke, Noak, Knoak, Noaks, Nokes, Knokes, Nowkes, Noekes and many more.
Early Notables of the Nokes family
Distinguished members of the family include
- James Nokes (Noke, Noak, Noakes) (died 1692), an English actor, whose laughter-arousing genius was well known. He was one of the male actors who played female roles in the newly reopened playhouses sh...
Nokes Ranking
In the United States, the name Nokes is the 12,557th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6
Nokes migration to the United States +
Some of the first settlers of this family name were:
Nokes Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
- Andrew Nokes, who arrived in Virginia in 1650 7
- William Nokes, who arrived in Virginia in 1654 7
Nokes migration to Australia +
Emigration to
Australia followed the
First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:
Nokes Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
- Joseph Nokes, who arrived in Kangaroo Island aboard the ship "Tam O'Shanter" in 1836 8
- Miss Mary Nokes, English convict who was convicted in London, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Emma Eugenia" on 22nd January 1846, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 9
- Frederick Nokes (aged 21), a baker, who arrived in South Australia in 1856 aboard the ship "Aurora"
Nokes migration to West Indies +
The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association.
10Nokes Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
- Mr. John Nokes, aged 20, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Hopewell" arriving in Barbados on 17th February 1634 7
- Mr. Henrie Nokes, (b. 1608), aged 27, British settler traveling aboard the ship "William and John" arriving in St Christopher (Saint Kitts) in 1635 11
Contemporary Notables of the name Nokes (post 1700) +
- Matthew Dodge "Matt" Nokes (b. 1963), American baseball player who played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball
- George Augustus Nokes (1867-1948), often known by his pen-name G.A. Sekon, the founding editor of The Railway Magazine
- George Nokes, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Texas, 1964 12
- G. O. Nokes Jr., American Democratic Party politician, Member of Texas State Senate, 1950 12
- David Nokes (1948-2009), English scholar of eighteenth century English literature
- Malcolm Cuthbert Nokes (1897-1986), British schoolteacher, soldier, research scientist and Olympic athlete winning a bronze medal at the 1924 Summer Olympics and later two gold medals at the 1930 and 1934 British Empire Games
- Caroline FIona Ellen Nokes (b. 1972), British Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom, Minister of State for Immigration (2018-), Minister for Government Resilience and Efficiency (2017-2018)
- Dr Roger I. Nokes, Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand
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)
- Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
- Arthur, William , An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names. London: 1857. Print
- Charnock, Richard, Stephen, Ludus Patronymicus of The Etymology of Curious Surnames. London: Trubner & Co., 60 Paternoster Row, 1868. Print.
- Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
- "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
- 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)
- State Records of South Australia. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) TAM O'SHANTER - 1836. Retrieved from http://www.slsa.sa.gov.au/BSA/1836TamOShanter.htm
- Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 4th April 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/emma-eugenia
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
- Pilgrim Ship's of 1600's (Retrieved October 4th 2021 from https://www.packrat-pro.com/ships/shiplist.htm
- The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 9) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html