Recorded as Toke, Took, Tuck, Tuke, and the diminutives Tookey, Tuckie and Tuckey, this interesting and most unusual surname is English but ultimately of pre 7th century Viking origins. It derives from the personal name Tuke, itself claimed to be short form of "Thorkettill" translating as "Thors cauldron",. However some researchers say the derivation is from "Tiodgeir", meaning "people-spear", so there may be several possibilities. The personal name as Toc is recorded in the Domesday Book for Yorkshire in 1086, whilst Rogerus filius Toke is mentioned in the Curia Rolls of Northampton in 1214. Early examples of the surname include Robert Toke in the Pipe Rolls of Suffolk in 1200; William Toke, in the Curia Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1211; and Richard Toki in the Hundred Rolls of Wiltshire in 1273. John Horne Tooke (1736 - 1812) was a notable politician and philologist in his day. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Wrange Tocha, which was dated 1166, in the "Pipe Rolls of Norfolk", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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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