There are two possible sources for this English name, the first being that it is from the personal name Lawrence, from the nickname "law" or "low". Lawrence is a derivation of the Middle English 13th Century "Lorens", the Latin "Laurentius", a man from Laurentum. A town in Italy with the suffix cock from the Olde English pre 7th Century "cocc", a nickname for a "swaggering youth". This name would be used in the sense of the diminutive form of Lawrence i.e. "son of". However, the prefix "low" could also be from a Middle English given name which comes from the Olde English personal name "Lufa" with the suffix remaining the same. Two recordings of christenings in London are as follows: Daniell Lowcock the infant son of John and Ann Lowcock was christened at St. Martin-in-the-Fields on 28th October 1683, and on the 20th of October 1795 Charlotte Lowcock, daughter of Thomas and Mary Lowcock was christened at St. Andrew's Holborn. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Peter Luuecok, which was dated 1221, in the "Assize Rolls", Warwickshire, 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.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024