Manach

According to the famous International Genealogical Index this is a surname which is recorded in England in a wide range of spellings. These include Manach, Manake, Mannack, Manoch, Manock, Mannock, Mannocke, Manowch, Manooch, Mannooch, Manouch, Manough, and possibly others. There have been a number of claims as to the origin such as Irish from the unlikely Mannix or Manogue, or the much more probable Dutch-Flemish-German personal name Mann, which does literally mean man. To this has been added various dialectal or misspelt diminutive suffix based upon "-ock," a short form of the pre 5th century word cocc, meaning son of. It is probable that in England the personal name was first introduced from the continent by the original Anglo-Saxons of the 5th to the 8th centuries, later in the 14th century as a surname with the famous Flemish Weavers, and then again in the 17th and 18th century with the even more famous Huguenots protestant refugees. Each wave brought in different spelling forms which were then largely anglicised. Early recordings taken from surviving church registers of the city of London include John Manocke who daughter Alyce was christened at St Andrews Holborn, on May 1st 1583, whilst Elizabeth Manooch married Abraham Poole at St Brides Fleet Street, on May 27th 1631. Major Michael Mannock, born in Ireland and of the Royal Flying Corps, was the highest scoring British ace of the First World War with seventy three proven victories.