Show ContentsAnneke History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Anneke family

The surname Anneke was first found in Northumberland in Alnwick, a market town and parish, and the head of a union, in the E. division of Coquetdale ward. "This place, which is of great antiquity, was occupied at a very early period by the Danes or Saxons, who called it Ealnwic, from its situation near the river Alne, and built a strong Castle for its defence on a site supposed to have been previously occupied by a Roman fortress. The castle thus erected, after the Norman Conquest, became the baronial residence of Ivo de Vescy, lord of Alnwick, to whom the barony had been given by the Conqueror. " 1

Alnwick Castle survives today and is the seat of His Grace The 12th Duke of Northumberland. William of Alnwick (d. 1449), was an early English divine, Bishop of Norwich (1426-1436), and of Lincoln (1436-1449), who was born at Alnwick in Northumberland, and from which he derived his name. 2

Early History of the Anneke family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Anneke research. Another 126 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1069, 1230, 1455 and 1487 are included under the topic Early Anneke History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Anneke Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names tend to be marked by an enormous number of spelling variations. This is largely due to the fact that Old and Middle English lacked any spelling rules when Norman French was introduced in the 11th century. The languages of the English courts at that time were French and Latin. These various languages mixed quite freely in the evolving social milieu. The final element of this mix is that medieval scribes spelled words according to their sounds rather than any definite rules, so a name was often spelled in as many different ways as the number of documents it appeared in. The name was spelled Alnwick, Alnick, Annick, Annicke, Almwake, Alnwyk and others.

Early Notables of the Anneke family

More information is included under the topic Early Anneke Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Anneke family

Because of the political and religious discontent in England, families began to migrate abroad in enormous numbers. Faced with persecution and starvation at home, the open frontiers and generally less oppressive social environment of the New World seemed tantalizing indeed to many English people. The trip was difficult, and not all made it unscathed, but many of those who did get to Canada and the United States made important contributions to the young nations in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers with Anneke name or one of its variants: Amick, aged 58, who arrived at Ellis Island, in 1904; Adele Amick, aged 42, who arrived at Ellis Island from Paris, France, in 1910; J. W. Amick, aged 46, who arrived at Ellis Island, in 1904.


Contemporary Notables of the name Anneke (post 1700) +

  • Edward E. Anneke, American politician, Candidate for Circuit Judge in Michigan 18th Circuit, 1905 3
  • Anneke Venema (b. 1971), Dutch silver medalist rower at the 2000 Summer Olympics
  • Anneke Wills (b. 1941), born Anna Katarina Willys, an English actress, best known for her role as Doctor Who's companion Polly in the BBC science fiction series
  • Anneke de Bont, Actress


  1. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  2. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


Houseofnames.com on Facebook