Geke

Recorded in many forms including Geek, Geekin, Geekings, Jagg, Jagge, Jack, Jek, Jeak, Jeakes, Jekins and Jeakings, this interesting surname is of early medieval English origin. It was originally formed from either of two male given names, Jacob or John. Jacob derives from the Hebrew "Aqob" meaning "following-after", and in the Bible is the name of the younger twin brother of Esau, who parted with his birthright "for a mess of potage". The forename James is of identical origin, and both appear as "Jacobus" in the Latin. The Old French given name "Jacques", the usual form of Jacobus, was introduced into England by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066, and was anglicized variously as Jake, Jack and Jeke. The personal name John derives from the Hebrew "Yochanan" meaning "Jehovah has favoured (me with a son)". The popularity of this name throughout Europe is borne out by the wide variety of diminutive and pet forms it generated, estimated at over one thousand with Petrus Jake being noted in the Pipe Rolls of the county of Cornwall in 1195, and William Jeke who was a witness in the Assize Court of Cambridgeshire in the year 1260. Other recordings include John Jack who departed from the Port of London, aboard the ship "Amitie", bound for St. Christopher's in the Barbados, in October 1635, and Thomas Jeakins whose daughter Eliisabeth was christened at St Dunstans in the East, Stepney, on November 26th 1676. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Jagge. This was dated 1251, in the Chartulary of Ramsey Abbey, during the reign of King Henry 111rd of England, 1216 - 1272. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.