Sandercroft

Some surnames derive logical explanation, Saundercock, also recorded as Sandercock, is nearly one of them. It is almost certainly locational, and probably derived from the village of Sandcroft, near Folkestone, in Kent. The registers for the South East and East Anglia would appear to confirm the development, but with what appears to be corrupted spellings, there always remains an area of doubt. All surnames at their point of origination, had a definitive meaning, Sandercock or Saundercock has no apparent translation. The word Sand or Saund is of Olde English origin and normally describe one who lives at a sandy place or a village so named, the additive suffix 'er' is confirmation. The further elements usually added to this prefix are Brook, Field, or Croft, the latter describing an enclosed farm or hamlet, and again of Olde English origins. 'Cocc' is genitive and usually describes a 'Son of', hardly a logical description in this case. The examples of the recordings include the link form, would seem to bear out our conclusion that the spelling is a dialectal variant. These include Jone Sandcroft who married Thomas Burgis at St Peters Church, Norwich on December 1st 1553, Robert Sandecocke at Addington Church, Addington, Kent on May 3rd 1601, Gilbert Sandercroft, who married Elizabeth Utting at St Giles, Norwich, on September 23rd 1753, and Mary Ann Saundercock, daughter of James Saundercock, christened at St John 'The Evangelist', Lambeth, on December 20th 1835. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Sandcrofte which was dated January 1st 1546, a witness at Fressingfield, Suffolk, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as 'Bluff King Hal', 1510 - 1547. 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.