This name, with variant spellings Wakelin, Wakling, Wakelam, Walkin(g) and Walklyn, derives from Walc(h)elin, an Anglo-Norman-French diminutive form of the Old German personal byname "Walco", meaning "Foreigner". "Walcelin" (without surname) was first recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086, and a Ricardus filius (son of) Walkelini was recorded in the 1119 Records of Bury St. Edmund's, Suffolk. One Wakelinus de Roking appears in the Curia Regis Rolls of Warwickshire, dated 1221. The surname was first recorded in that year also (see below). One Nicholas Walklin appears in the 1225 Assize Court Rolls of Somerset, and a John Wakelam in the 1544 Fine Court Rolls of Staffordshire. The variant spelling Wakeling is particularly well recorded in 17th Century London Church Registers. On April 14th 1678, Elizabeth Wakeling, an infant, was christened in St. Botolph without Aldergate, and on October 20th 1698, George Wakeling and Joanha Brasier were married in Lincoln Inn Chapel, Holborn. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Wakelin, which was dated 1221, in the "Curia Regis Rolls of London", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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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