Synke

This most interesting and unusual surname with variant spellings Synke, Syncke, Zincke, Zink etc., has two distinct possible origins, both Germanic. Firstly, the derivation may be from the male given name Sink, itself a Frisian form of Signand meaning "Victory-Ventury". Alternatively, Sink may have originated as a topographical name from residence on a pointed piece of land, or as a nickname for a man with a singularly pointed nose. The derivation in this case is from the Middle High German "Zinke", (Old High German, "Zinko"), meaning tip, point or prong. On June 23rd 1602, Presilla Syncke and Danyell Ellis were married at St. Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey, London, and on February 5th 1681, Cartarina Maria Sink was christened in Martkriche Katholisch, Paderbon, Westfalen, Germany. The marriage of Christian Frederick Zincke and Elizabeth Bothman took place in St. George Mayfair, Westminster, London, on November 4th 1718. A Coat of Arms granted to the family depicts a youth clad in garments of gold, and holding three blue flowers in the right hand, on a silver shield. A Green mount forms the base of the shield. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Gartrude Synke, (christening), which was dated December 26th 1566, St. Martin-in-the-Fields, Westminster, London, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1st, Good Queen Bess, 1558 - 1603. 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.