Recorded in several spelling forms including: Yockney, Jochney, and Youkney, this is an English locational surname. Well recorded in the church registers of the diocese of Greater London from the late medieval period, it almost certainly originates from a now "lost" village, as no place with any similar spelling is to be found in any known gazetter of the British Isles. The only faintly similar names are the village of Yockenthwaite in the Yorkshire Dales, where it is claimed that the prefix is a form of the Gaelic personal name "Eogan", and Yockleton, a village in Shropshire. Here the meaning is "The manor house (Olde English iocled) by the village (tun)" and it is probable that this surname has a similar meaning. The suffix "-ney" is a development of the pre 7th century word "eg" meaning an island, so we would seem to have the logical explanation of "The manor house on the island." This may well have been an island in an area which was subsequently drained such as East Anglia and the Fen Country, and as a result "Iocled-ey" ceased to exist, at least as an island. Some five thousand British Isles surnames originate from now lost medieval farms or villages, so this whilst still unusual, is not an unexpected phenomena. Examples of the surname recording include: John Yokeney, who was christened at St Andrews church, Holborn, on July 23rd 1637, and Elizabeth Yockney, who married Jenkin Kempe at St Peters church, Pauls Wharf, city of London, on May 23rd 1659.

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