This is a variant patronymic surname which derives originally from the Old German "Volk" now more commonly found as "Folk". The modern surname consists of the elements "Volk", which in this context was originally a pre 10th Century personal name meaning "the People", plus the medieval suffix "kin" - "the son of Volk", or possibly "little Volk". The further additive "s" may be purely a dialectal form or more probably implies a further diminutive to give "the son of the son of Vo(l)k". The name was recorded heraldically in France as "Volkein of Valaise", and this may imply a Huguenot background for the English name. In the modern idiom the surname has many variant spellings, including Vokin, Vokins, Vocens, Vockins, Vokings and Vockings. Recordings from London Church Registers include: the christening of Elizabeth, daughter of William and Elizabeth Vockins, on October 28th 1680, at St. Mary Whitechapel, Stepney, and the christening of Mary, daughter of Allen and Mary Vockins, on June 17th 1691, at St. Anne's, Soho, Westminster. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Vokin, which was dated April 17th 1623, marriage to Jane Curtis, at St. Katherine by the Tower, London, during the reign of King James 1 of England and V1 of Scotland, 1603 - 1625. 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.