This interesting surname is of English locational origin from Shorrock Green in Lancashire which derives from the Old English pre 7th Century "scora" meaning bank as in bank of river plus "ac" oak; hence "oak trees by a riverbank". The surname is first recorded in the early half of the 14th Century (see below). In the modern idiom the surname has many variant spellings including Shorrock, Shorrocks, Sharrock, Sharrocks, etc.. Other recordings of the surname and its variants from the Lancashire church registers include; Thomas, son of Henry Shorrock, who was christened on May 30th 1543, at Kirkham; the place on December 10th 1551, at Chorley; on June 22nd 1562, Henry, son of Hugh and Agnes Sharrocke, was christened at Standish; the marriage of Ellin Shurrock to John Jackson took place on April 27th 1584, at Kirkham; and Mary, daughter of James and Elizabeth Shurrock, was christened on November 8th 1818, at St. John's, Preston. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard de Shorrok, which was dated 1332, in the Pipe 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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