Jauncey

This rare and interesting name is of Medieval French origin and is a dialectal variant of the locational name Chauncey, from Chancey or Chaucay (Cantius Estate) in France. It is thought that this placename is derived from the French word 'chance', meaning luck or fortune, and it may be that there was an early association with good fortune at the site of this place. The name was likely to have been introduced with, or directly, after the Norman Conquest of 1066, and a namebearer may have settled in Herefordshire, as this variant is prevalent there. During the Middle Ages, on leaving their village to seek work elsewhere, people would often adopt the placename as a means of identification, thus resulting in a wide dispersal of the name. In Droitwich, Worcestershire on August 11th 1778, one James Jauncey married Ann Fudley. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walt Jauncey, marriage to Sibella Thomkins, which was dated June 4th 1575, Yarkhill, Herefordshire, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, 'Good Queen Bess', 1558-1603. 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.