Bockland History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Bockland is of Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when the family lived in one of the various places called Buckland in the counties of Buckinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Kent, Somerset and Surrey. 1 2 The place-name is derived from the word laund, which referred to a space in the open woods where the deer grazed.

Early Origins of the Bockland family

The surname Bockland was first found in Buckingham at a village and civil parish in Aylesbury Vale district. This reference is by far the oldest but others include: Buckland, Kent a village near Dover; Buckland, Gloucestershire, a village and civil parish in the borough of Tewkesbury; Buckland, Hereford, a village and is part of Buckland and Chipping civil parish in East Hertfordshire; Buckland, Surrey a village and civil parish in the Mole Valley district; and others.

One of the first records of the family was Hugh de Bocland or Hugh of Buckland (d. 1119?), Sheriff of Berkshire and several other counties, who "received his surname from the manor of Buckland, near Faringdon, of which he was tenant under the monastery of Abingdon. He was held in great esteem by Henry I, and that he was sheriff of eight counties. Six of these the evidence of charters enables us to identify, viz. Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex, and Middlesex. " 3

Geoffrey de Bocland (fl. 1195-1224), was an English justice who was both a lawyer and a churchman. He was a justiciar in the years 1195-1197, 1201-1204, and in 1218. "As early as the beginning of [King] John's reign he was connected with the exchequer, and as late as 1220 he was a justice itinerant in the county of Hereford. " 3

The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed the scattered entries and various early spellings: John de Bocklonde, Oxfordshire; Nicholas de Bocland, Kent; William de Boclond, Bedfordshire; and Phillip de Boclaund, Hertfordshire. 4 In Devon, John Bokeland was Warden of St Mary's College, Ottery St Mary in 1399.

Early History of the Bockland family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Bockland research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1564, 1611, 1648, 1695, 1710, 1747 and 1765 are included under the topic Early Bockland History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Bockland Spelling Variations

It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, early Anglo-Saxon surnames like Bockland are characterized by many spelling variations. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages, even literate people changed the spelling of their names. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. The variations of the name Bockland include: Buckland, Bucland, Bucklin and others.

Early Notables of the Bockland family

Distinguished members of the family include

Maurice Bocland or Bockland (1648-1710), was an English Member of Parliament for Downton; and his son, Lieutenant-General Maurice Bocland (c. 1695 - 15 August 1765) was a British soldier and Member of...

Migration of the Bockland family

Many English families tired of political and religious strife left Britain for the new colonies in North America. Although the trip itself offered no relief - conditions on the ships were extremely cramped, and many travelers arrived diseased, starving, and destitute - these immigrants believed the opportunities that awaited them were worth the risks. Once in the colonies, many of the families did indeed prosper and, in turn, made significant contributions to the culture and economies of the growing colonies. An inquiry into the early roots of North American families has revealed a number of immigrants bearing the name Bockland or a variant listed above: Christopher Buckland who settled in Barbados in 1635; John Buckland settled in Virginia in 1637; Richard Buckland settled in Virginia in 1645; Walter Buckland settled in New England in 1759.

Citations +

Barber, Henry, British Family Names London: Elliot Stock, 62 Paternoster Row, 1894. Print.
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. 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)