Bowcock

Recorded in a number of spellings as shown be;low, this is an English medieval surname, but perhaps with some French input. It is or was a nickname given to a person who his associates regarded as 'a bit of a lad'. The derivation is from either the pre 7th century Olde English word 'bald' meaning bold in the sense of brazen, or the 10th century Old French word 'baud' introduced into England after the Norman Invasion of 1066, and having the similar meaning of excessively joyful or abandoned, in the sense of an over enthusiastic player. To this was added the suffix 'cocca' later shortened to 'cock', which indicated either 'son of Baud' or perhaps a 'kin' of Baud. Early examples of the surname recording include Geoffrey Balcok in the Hundred Rolls of Yorkshire in 1276, whilst somewhat later Sara Bawcoke and William Boococke are recorded in the register of the parish of Rothwell, Yorkshire in 1627. In the modern idiom the name has spellings which include Bawcock, Bowcutt, Bawcutt, Baucutt, Bocock, Bowcock, and Boocock. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Boucok. This was dated 1297, in the accounts of the earldom of Cornwall, during the reign of King Edward 1st of England, and known as The Hammer of the Scots, 1272-1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.