Bullock

This interesting surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is an example of that sizeable group of early European surnames that were gradually created from the habitual use of nicknames. The nicknames were given in the first instance with reference to a variety of occupations or to personal characteristics, such as physical attributes or peculiarities, mental and moral characteristics, supposed resemblance to an animal's or bird's appearance or disposition, or to habits of dress and behaviour. In this instance, the name would have been a nickname for an exuberant young man, deriving from the Middle English "bullok", bullock, referring to a young steer, from the Olde English pre 7th Century "bulluca", a bull calf. Robert Bulloc is noted in the 1195 Feet of Fines. Occasionally, the surname may be occupational for one who minded bull calves. Richarde le Bollocherde is listed in the Eynsham Cartulary, Oxford (1281). In the modern idiom the surname can be found as Bullock and Bullocke. On October 8th 1565, Richard Bullock married Anne Aldey at the church of St. Dunstan's in the East, London, and William, son of John Bullock, was christened at St. Mary Aldermary, also in London, on October 8th 1569. In April 1635, Edward Bullock, aged 31 yrs., embarked from London on the ship "Elizabeth" bound for New England. He was one of the earliest recorded namebearers to settle in America. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Bulluc, which was dated 1170, in the "Records of Hampshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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.