The name Couker is of
Anglo-Saxon origin and came from when the family lived in
Somerset, where they lived in one of two parishes named Coker.
Early Origins of the Couker family
The surname Couker was first found in
Somerset where there is an East, and West Coker. North Coker no longer exists. The place name dates back to at least the
Domesday Book where it was listed as Cocre, part of the Houdsborough
hundred and was originally the name of a stream there, a Celtic river-name meaning "crooked, winding."
[1]CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) East Coker was the second poem of T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets and was directly connected to Eliot's ancestry and East Coker's church was later to house Eliot's ashes.
Early History of the Couker family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Couker research.
Another 193 words (14 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1523, 1607, 1563, 1617, 1698, 1656, 1660, 1683, 1734, 1722, 1727, 1617, 1697, 1656, 1646 and 1647 are included under the topic Early Couker History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Couker 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 Couker 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 Couker include: Coker, Coaker, Cokers and others.
Early Notables of the Couker family (pre 1700)
Notables of the family at this time include John Coker
(c. 1523-1607), of Mappowder,
Dorset, Member of Parliament for Bletchingley in 1563; Robert Coker (c.1617-1698), of Mappowder, Dorset, Member of Parliament for...
Another 32 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Couker Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Couker family to the New World and Oceana
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 Couker or a variant listed above: Robert Coker who sailed on the " Mary and John" and settled in Dedham, Massachusetts in 1632; John Coker settled in Virginia in 1623; another John arrived in New
England in 1775. The scion of the distinguished family of the U.S.A. was James Lide Coker of Darlington, South Carolina..