Recorded in the spellings of Duke, Jewke, Jewkes, Jock, Jockel, Joke, Jokes, Juke, Jukes, and possibly other forms, this is an English surname. Dependant on the spelling it is usually a patronymic or diminutive of the pre 7th century Celtic personal name "Judicael" meaning "bountiful lord". The given name is first recorded as "Judichel" in the famous Domesday Book of 1086 for Cambridgeshire, and another recording is that of Jukel de Vertheburc in the Gilbertine monastery register of Lincolnshire which is dated 1182. The patronymic form as Jokes is first recorded in the latter half of the 14th Century, (see below). The final "s" attached to the name is a reduced form of "son of". Other examples of the name recording taken from surviving church registers of the 17th century include Winifride Jukes who married Thomas Mahon at St. Margarets, Westminster on January 28th 1613, whilst on June 19th 1696, Mary Jukes, was christened at St. Dunstans in the East, Stepney. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Jokes. which was dated 1381, in the "Subsidy Rolls" of Staffordshire. This was during the reign of King Richard 11 of England, known by the nickname of "Richard of Bordeaux" where he was born. He reigned from 1377 to 1399, when he was overthrown. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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