Vicar

Recorded in several spellings including Vicar, Vicars, Viccars, Vickars, Vickors, this is an English surname. It derives from the 12th century Medieval word "vicare", used to denote someone who carried out pastoral duties on behalf of the absentee holder of a benefice. This later became a regular word for the working parish priest, because in practice most benefice-holders were absentees! The final "s" could mean "son of," but as the clergy were forbidden to marry until 1535 with the introduction of the Protestant Church, it may have meant "servant of". If so it was occupational for some one who worked for a vicar. It also seems to have been used as in the first recording as shown below, as a residential name. If so it may be from the village of Vicars Cross in Cheshire, or possibly from a now "lost" medieval village. Early examples of surname recordings taken from surviving church registers of the city of London and the surrounding area. These include the christening of Francis Vickers, on October 4th 1559, at Christ Church, Grey Friars, Newgate; the christening of William Viccars, on November 27th 1562, at St. Mary, Woolnoth; and the marriage of William Vickors and Margaret Hobson, on July 6th 1570, at St. Mary Somerset. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Wiliam del Vickers, which was dated 1327, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Staffordshire", during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.