Slucock

This unusual name is of Medieval English origin and has two possible meanings, the first being that it is a topographical name for a dweller by a slough or miry place, deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century 'sloh'. However, Slucock, with the variant spelling Slewcock and Slowcock may also be a nickname surname for a slow, relaxed person with the derivation from the Old English 'slaw', meaning slow, or dull. The suffix 'cock' denotes the diminutive, for example, 'little' or 'son of', and was a common name ending from the 13th and 14th Centuries onwards. The variant Slucock appears to be peculiar to Kent, for example, records show the christening of one Henry John Slucock on July 21st 1875 at St. Paul's, Chatham. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Elizabeth Slowcocke, marriage to John Buckley, which was dated February 19th 1609, Farnham, Surrey, during the reign of King James 1 of England and V1 of Scotland, 1603-1625. 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.