Muck

this interesting and curious surname is of early medieval Germanic origin, and is a nickname for a small person or for someone who was particularly restless and active, derived from the Middle High German "mucke", a midge, mosquito, gnat. However, the name may also be of locational origin, from a place so called near Ingelheim, Germany, from which the first recorded namebearer (see below) derived his name. Variants of the surname in the modern idiom include Mueck, Muegge, Mucke, Muecke, Mucks and Muck(e)gg. Early examples of the surname include: the christening of Peter, son of Caspar Mucke, on February 21st 1564, at Altenburg, Sachsen-Altenburg; the marriage of Margretha Muck and Hans Donner on September 5th 1580, at Manubach, Rheinland; the christening of Christoph, son of Jakob and Hetwigis Mucke, on April 3rd 1590, at St. Joannis, Breslau Stadt, Schleisien; and the christening of Samwell Mucks on May 9th 1630, at St. Katherine by the Tower, London. A Coat of Arms grated to a family of the name in Germany depicts a shield divided quarterly, first and fourth, a black fly, en pal on a silver field; second and third, a green tree on a terrace on a gold field. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Haneman Mugke, which was dated 1301, in "Early Medieval German Records", during the reign of Albert 1, Hapsburg Holy Roman Emperor, 1298 - 1308. 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.