Recorded as Donk, Donke, Dunk, Dunges, Dungen, Dunkmann, Von der Dunk, and possibly others, this is a surname of Dutch-German origins. There are two possible origins. The first is that it is topographical for someone who lived on a piece of raised dry land in marshy surroundings called a dung, and the second that it could be locational from any of the various places called Dung, found in the Netherlands and Flanders. There is also a suggestion that in some instances in Scotland and Ireland it could be a short or nickname form of the personal name Duncan, and meaning 'The Brown Warrior'. Precisely who the Brown Warrior was is unclear, but if he existed it was before the 5th century. We believe that there may be a confusion or fusion with the similar surname of Dunce, Duns and Dunse, a locational Scottish surname from Duns in Berwickshire. The Dunk surname was very prominent in the 18th Century with that of George Montague Dunk, the earl of Halifax. He was of Dutch origins, a supporter of William of Orange. king of England 1689 - 1702, and founder of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Surnames developed largely because of personal taxation in medieval times. In England this was sometimes known as the 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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