Brocks

This most interesting and unusual surname is of Anglo-Saxon and Old French origin, and has three possible derivations. The first and most likely is that it originated as a nickname for one who resembled a badger, from the Olde English pre 7th Century word "brocc", meaning, a badger. It was perhaps given also to a vexing or mischievous person. Secondly, the name may have derived from the Old French "broque" or "brocke", a young stag, perhaps a nickname for a young, enthusiastic person, full of life. The third possibility is that the name is of English topographical origin for a person who lived by a stream from the Olde English word "broc", meaning a brook. There is also a river called "Brock" in Lancashire, which originated from "broc". One Richard Brock appeared in the 1275 Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire. Daniel de Lisle Brock (1762 - 1842) was bailiff of Guernsey and represented the interests of the island in London. His brother Sir Isaac (1769 - 1812), a Major-General, having served in the West Indies, Holland and Baltic region, was killed in an engagement with General Van Rennselaer at Queenstown, Canada. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Joel le Broc, which was dated 1222, in the "Calendar of Patent Rolls of Essex", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.