Recorded as Caskey, MacAskie and McAskie, this interesting surname is Scottish and sometimes Northern Irish. It originated from the Galloway region, and was an anglicization of the pre 10th century Gaelic 'MacAscaidh', meaning 'The son of Ascaidh'. The latter was a personal name which was a form of Askell. This name derives from the Old Norse personal name 'Asketill', and translates as 'The cauldron of the gods' and has formed the basis of many names. In the 'Accounts of the lord high treasurer of Scotland' it reads that one Thom McKasky (see below) was one of the workmen engaged in 'the byggen of the Kyngis rowbarge byggyte in Dunbretane', which translates literally as 'the building of the kings barge'. Other early recordings include that In 1514 of Thomas MaKeasky. He was a 'reidare' at Glasfurde. This was a post roughly equivalent to a lay preacher, in effect a minor order of the Scottish church after the Reformation, whilst Thomas M'Caskie was admitted as a burgess and freeman of Glasgow in 1588. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thom McKasky. This was dated 1494 at Edinburgh, during the reign of King James 1V of Scotland, 1488 - 1513. 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.