This interesting and unusual name, with variant spellings Jackaway and Jackways is most probably of English topographical origin, for "a dweller by Jake's or Jack's road", from the Old French personal name "Jacques" and the Old English, pre seventh Century word "weg", road, track, maybe a road which passed by the Frenchman's house. People were often identified by any physical feature that they lived by, hence topographical surname from one of the main groups of surname formation and origination. This surname first appears in written records relatively late, in the early 17th Century, (see below) in London. Many of the name are found in the Gloucestershire church registers. One, Marie Jakway married Thomas Web on September 28th 1624, at Leonard Stanley, Gloucestershire, while one Richard Jakeway married Mary Hiron on November 27th 1628, at Chipping Campden. Mary Jakeways married Philip White at St. Leonard's Shoreditch, London on August 31st 1805. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Isabell Jackway, married Fawke Morrow, which was dated January 24th 1612, at St. James, Clerkenwell, London, during the reign of King James 1, of England and V1 of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. 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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