This interesting surname, with variant spellings Shacklady and Shakelade, is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and has two possible origins. Firstly, it may be of locational origin from either Shackerley in Lancashire, recorded as "Shakerlegh" in the 1332 Subsidy Rolls, or Shakerley in Lancashire, recorded as "Shakerlee" in the Cockersand Chartulary (1210). The placename derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century "sceacere" meaning robber, and "leah", wood or clearing; hence, "wood where robbers stayed". Locational surnames were developed when former inhabitants of a place moved to another area, usually to seek work, and were best identified by the name of their birthplace. It has also been suggested that the surname originated as a bawdy nickname for a man who was suspected of having made love to a lady higher than him in social rank, deriving from the Middle English "shak(k)en", to shake or toss, and "ladie", a lady. The surname first appears on record in the early half of the 14th Century (see below), and one Richard Shaklady appeared in the Lancashire Feet of Fines, dated 1384. Recordings from English Church Registers include: the marriage of Edward Shacklady and Anne Spencer on November 30th 1577, at Aughton by Ormskirk, Lancashire, and the marriage of Robert Shacklady and Martha Moore on June 15th 1701, at St. Giles' Cripplegate, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Shakelauedy, which was dated 1332, in the "Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire", during the reign of King Edward 111, known as "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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.

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