This interesting surname of English origin with variant spellings Longcak, Longcake, Longcake, Londcake, etc., is a metonymic occupational name for a maker of long cakes, deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century "lang, long" meaning "long" plus the Middle English "kake, cake", "a small flattened sort of bread, originally round or oval, usually baked hard on both sides by being turned in the process". The surname dates back to the late 17th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one William Longcak who married Sarah Braybone on March 20th 1685 at St. James, Dukes Place, London, Mary Langcake married John Richardson on May 10th 1691 also at St. James, Dukes, Place, and Thomas Longcake married Elizabeth Carles on April 12th 1692, at the Temple Church of England, London. Mary Longcake married John Little on September 14th 1832 at St. Nicholas, Liverpool, Lancashire. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Landcake married Alice Simons, which was dated 1680, Allhallows London Wall, during the reign of King Charles 11, known as "The Merry Monarch", 1660 - 1685. 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.