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Show ContentsBeacock History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
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Family Crest Download (JPG) Heritage Series - 600 DPI

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The name Beacock comes from the ancient Anglo-Saxon culture of Britain. It was a name for a peacock, a nickname used also as a personal name. [1] [2] [3] Or the name could denote a "dweller at the sign of the peacock; one with the qualities of a peacock." [4]

While most sources agree on this etymology of the name, one source postulates the name could be from Peakirk, a parish, in the union and soke of Peterborough, N. division of the county of Northampton. [5] "St. Pega, in 714, settled here in a cell, afterwards converted by Edmund Atheling into a monastery, which, though twice destroyed by the Danes, existed till 1048: there are remains in the parish." [6]

Early Origins of the Beacock family

The surname Beacock was first found in Essex, where the name Pecoc was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. [7] From this earliest record of the family, we move to Cornwall where Roger Paucoc was listed in the Pipe Rolls for 1194. Years later in Somerset, the Assize Rolls there listed Richard Pocock in 1225 and in Yorkshire, Simon Pacock was listed in the Subsidy Rolls for 1297. As a forename, Pecoc de Briminton was recorded in the Assize Rolls for Cheshire in 1285. Moving back to Essex, Robert Pecok (Paycock) was listed there in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327. [1]

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 had three listings for the family: Geoffrey Pokoc, Cambridgeshire; Hugh Pokok, Oxfordshire; and Robert Pokoc, Lincolnshire. [8] In Somerset, Walter Pokok and Roger Pokok were listed there, 1 Edward III (during the first year of King Edward I's reign.) [9]

The name was also found in Scotland where "a gift of six pennies annually was made from the toft of Roger Pacok in Annan in thirteenth century. Andreas Pacok was presbyter and notary public in the diocese of St. Andrews, 1311-1321, and the name appears frequently in the parish register of Dunfermline, 1561-1700, as Paycok (1564) and Paicok (1572). Thomas Pacok had grant of a third part of the land of Quhitfeilde in the barony of Lyntounrothrike in 1378, and another Thomas Pacok was presented to a chaplaincy in 1426. Andrew Pacock was notary public in Dunfermling, 1512, and George Pacok was witness in Linlithgow, 1536." [10]

Early History of the Beacock family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Beacock research. Another 229 words (16 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1612, 1510, 1596, 1601, 1631, 1843, 1598, 1673, 1652, 1652, 1707, 1516, 1582, 1516, 1528, 1541, 1534, 1534, 1535, 1537, 1554, 1653, 1647, 1649, 1648, 1649, 1650, 1650, 1651 and are included under the topic Early Beacock History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Beacock Spelling Variations

Only recently has spelling become standardized in the English language. As the English language evolved in the Middle Ages, the spelling of names changed also. The name Beacock has undergone many spelling variations, including Peacock, Peacocke and others.

Early Notables of the Beacock family (pre 1700)

Notables of this surname at this time include: Thomas Peacock (1516?-1582?), President of Queens' College, Cambridge, born at Cambridge, about 1516, was son of Thomas Peacock, burgess of Cambridge, whose will, dated 1528, was proved in the court of the archdeacon of Ely in 1541. He was admitted fellow of St. John's College, Cambridge, in 1534, and graduated B.A. 1534-1535, M.A. 1537, and B.D. 1554. " [11] James Peacock (d. 1653), was a Vice-Admiral who appears to have been a "merchant and sea captain, whose native place was Ipswich. He is first mentioned as captain of the Warwick frigate for the parliament...
Another 203 words (14 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Beacock Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Ireland Migration of the Beacock family to Ireland

Some of the Beacock family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 60 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

United States Beacock migration to the United States +

To escape the unstable social climate in England of this time, many families boarded ships for the New World with the hope of finding land, opportunity, and greater religious and political freedom. Although the voyages were expensive, crowded, and difficult, those families that arrived often found greater opportunities and freedoms than they could have experienced at home. Many of those families went on to make significant contributions to the rapidly developing colonies in which they settled. Early North American records indicate many people bearing the name Beacock were among those contributors:

Beacock Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • William Beacock, who arrived in St Clair County, Illinois in 1866 [12]
  1. Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  4. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  5. Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
  6. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  7. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  8. Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
  9. Dickinson, F.H., Kirby's Quest for Somerset of 16th of Edward the 3rd London: Harrison and Sons, Printers in Ordinary to Her Majesty, St, Martin's Lane, 1889. Print.
  10. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  11. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  12. 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)
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