This interesting surname, of Manx and Irish origin, is an Anglicized form of the Gaelic "O'Cuirc", the Manx "Mac Cuirc" meaning "descendant of, or son of Corc", a personal name from "corc", heart, or "curc" meaning "tuft of hair". The surname dates back to the mid 11th Century (see below). and further recordings include one Ceinnedigh Quyrke (1511), in the Manx Names of London. Variations in the idiom of the spelling from London Church Registers include: one Rycharde Quirke, who married Annes Godfrey on May 14th 1566, at St. Mary's, Somerset; John, son of Richard Quirke, who was christened on August 30th 1577, at St. Mary Mounthaw; Hewes, son of William and Elizabeth Quirk, who was christened at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, on August 30th 1584; and Thomas, son of John and Ann Quirk, who was christened on November 16th 1691, at St. Edmund the King and Martyr, Lombard Street. James and Emily Quirk, famine emigrants, sailed from Dublin aboard the "Charlotte" bound for New York on May 21st 1846. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ceinnedigh O' Cuirc, which was dated 1043, in the "Manx Names, Isle of Man", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Confessor", 1042 - 1066. 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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