This unusual name is of early medieval French origin, specifically from Brittany, from where it was introduced into the south-western English counties of Cornwall and Devonshire. The modern surname found as Corneck, Cornock and Cornick, derives from the Breton forms of the Old French surname 'Corne', which are usually found as Cornec and Cornic. The surname is a metonymic occupational surname for a hornblower or a worker in (animal) horn, derived from the Old French 'corne', horn, from the Latin 'corna'. The Breton forms of the name were probably introduced into England by followers of William the Conqueror after 1066. The Breton and Cornish languages share the same Celtic roots, and there are frequent similarities to be found in typical name suffixes, such as in the Breton 'corn-ec' and the Cornish 'corn-eck'. The name is also found recorded in London: the christening of one Francis Corneck was recorded at St. Mary's, Whitechapel, Stepney, on September 14th 1698. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Margaret Cornicke (christening), which was dated June 1st 1572, Horsington, Somerset, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, 'Good Queen Bess', 1558-1603. 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.

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