Murrock

This very uncommon and interesting name has two possible sources. Firstly, it may be of Cornish origin, derived from the Old Cornish "morek", maritime, "of the sea", which was used as a personal name, and is also the second element in the placename Crigmurrick, recorded as "Cruckmorek" in 1286. The surname from this source may therefore be from the given name, or a locational name from a shortened form of Crigmurrick. The second possible origin of the surname Murrock is from the Welsh given name "Meuric", a form of Morris. This male personal name was introduced into Britain by the Normans after the Conquest of 1066 in the Old French form "Maurice"; it is ultimately from the Latin "Mauritius", a derivative of "Murus", Moorish, often used as a byname for someone with a very swarthy complexion. The forms "Muric" and "Meroke" are recorded in Monmouthshire, circa 1420, and the first recording of the surname, below, is from this source. In Wiltshire, the marriage of Joan Murrocke and Thomas Smith was recorded in Wanborough, on November 1st 1597, and in Cornwall, the christening of Mary Jane, daughter of Philip and Anna Murrock, was recorded on January 28th 1838, at Sancreed. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry Meriche, which was dated 1379, in the "Poll Tax Returns of Yorkshire", during the reign of King Richard 11, known as "Richard of Bordeaux", 1377 - 1399. 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.