Recorded as Crook, Crooke, Crookall, Crookhill, Crookham, and probably others, this is an English residential surname. It has a number of possible origins. The first is medieval and denotes residence either at one of the many places called Crook or Crook Hall, both in County Durham, Crook Hill, also in Durham, Crookham in Berkshire, or from living by a 'crok', meaning an area of ground around a hill, a crook. Secondly the origin may be an occupational surname for a maker or seller of crooks and hooks used mainly in agriculture. Thirdly the origin is from the Old Norse nickname 'krokr', meaning crocked, and originally used of someone with a hunch back, and used in England as a early personal name. Examples of recordings include Thomas Crooke who married Ellen Barnefeeld at St. Dunstan's, Stepney in 1590, and William Crook married who Ann Powell, on October 7th 1618 at St. Mary Aldermary, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Rainald Croc. This was dated 1086, in the Domesday Book, Hampshire, during the reign of King William 1st, known as "The Conqueror", 1066 - 1087. 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.