Churches

Churches
Recorded as Churcher, Churches, Churchus, Churchouse and Curcher, this rare and interesting name is of medieval English and possibly Scottish origins, but ultimately French. It has two possible origins, both occupational. Firstly it may derive from the word "curch" believed to be Celtic but from the Fremnch word 'couvereches', and is recorded in Scotland in the year 1447. If so it described a kerchief, formerly worn instead of a cap or mutch, and a curcher would have been a maker or a wearer of distinctive headcoverings. Secondly and perhaps most likely, it was again occupational but this time for a churchwarden, or at least a person designated to look after the parish room. Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary usually when a son followed the father into the same line of business. Early examples of recordings include Iuo de Cerchous in the Subsidy Tax rolls of Sssex in 1327, and William del Chyrechous of Staffordshire in 1332. Amongst the sample recordings in the surviving registers of Greater London is the christening of Garrard Churcher at the church of St Mary Somerset, on June 29th 1595, and Robarte Curcher who was christened on May 19th 1605, at St. Andrew's Enfield, in Middlesex. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

Surnames reference. 2013.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Churches —    The origin of the word is treated under the head Church (q.v.).    The number of churches in London and its immediate suburbs, or within the City boundaries, has varied considerably at different times, but in early days it was extraordinarily… …   Dictionary of London

  • churches —    As appears in many entries in this book, a remarkable number of English *calen dar customs are associated with churches, even though they now contain no religious elements. Sometimes, their dates link them to saints days; sometimes, as with… …   A Dictionary of English folklore

  • Churches Together in England — (CTE) is an ecumenical organisation and the national instrument for the Christian church in England. It helps the different Churches to work together instead of separately so that they can be more effective and credible. It works through a… …   Wikipedia

  • Churches Together in Britain and Ireland — (CTBI) is an ecumenical organisation. The members include most of the major churches in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. It was formerly known as the Council of Churches of Britain and Ireland. The CTBI office is located in Central London;… …   Wikipedia

  • Churches That Abuse —   …   Wikipedia

  • Churches affiliated with Australian Christian Churches — refers to churches that are a part of Australian Christian Churches, the Australian organisation of the Assemblies of God (AOG), a Pentecostal denomination originating in the United States of America. There are over 1,100 churches in Australian… …   Wikipedia

  • Churches of Chiloé — Churches of Chiloé * UNESCO World Heritage Site Chacao Church Co …   Wikipedia

  • Churches Together in Britain and Ireland — (CTBI) ist eine ökumenische Organisation. Zu den Mitgliedern gehören die großen Kirchen in England, Schottland, Wales und Irland. Zuvor war die Organisation bekannt unter Council of Churches of Britain and Ireland. Die Organisation entstand am 1 …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Churches for Middle East Peace — Type 501(c)(3) Founded 1984 Location Washington, D.C. Key people Warren Clark, Executive Director Area served …   Wikipedia

  • Churches of Peace — in Jawor and Świdnica * UNESCO World Heritage Site …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”