Lokier

This interesting and unusual name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is an occupational surname for a locksmith. The name derives from the Old English pre 7th Century "loc", Middle English "loc", lock, fastening, with the agent suffix "-er". Other medieval surnames formed with the same element were "locker", recorded first as Peter le Loker in 1221 (Worcestershire), and "Locksmith", recorded first in 1255 (Essex), as Walter le Loksmyth. The surname development includes Simon le Lokyere (1296, Sussex), John Lockier (1609, London), and Henry Lockyeare (1622, ibid.), and the modern surname can be found as Lockyer, Lockyear, Lockier, and preserving one of the earliest forms, Lokier. One William Lokier, of Somerset, is listed in the Register of the University of Oxford for 1604, and the marriage of John Lokier and Martha Smith was recorded at St. Luke's, Chelsea, in London, on October 30th 1769. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Le Lokier (witness), which was dated 1221, The Warwickshire Assize Rolls, during the reign of King Henry 111, "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.