Blick

This unusual and interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and is a variant form of either of the more familiar surnames Black or Blake. These names share the same derivations, and have two possible - and opposite - interpretations. Firstly, the derivation may be from the Olde English pre 7th Century "blaec, blac", black, in Middle English "blak(e)", used as a nickname for a swarthy-complexioned or dark-haired man; one Willelmus Niger is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, this being the Latinized form of the name William Black. Secondly, the name(s) may derive from the Olde English "blac", wan, pale, white, fair, in Middle English "blake", again used as a nickname, with the opposite meaning, for one who was noticeably pale of complexion or very fair-haired. The variant forms of the surname, Blick, Blike and Bluck, are now found chiefly in the Midland counties of England, where early examples include: Jacobus Blucke (1543, Worcestershire); Henrie Blicke (1546, Warwickshire); Anne Blycke (1578, Shropshire); and John Blik (1598, Staffordshire). Among the recordings of the name from Church Registers is that of the marriage of Mathue Blick and Allys Wager, in Snifferfield, Warwickshire, on November 3rd 1583. The Blick Coat of Arms depicts, on an ermine shield, three silver leopards' faces on a black fesse; the Crest is a hawk's lure. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John le Blyk, which was dated 1327, in the "Exchequer Lay Subsidy Rolls for Somerset", during the reign of King Edward 111, known a "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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.