This interesting and most unusual English surname is of pre 7th century Old Scandinavian origin. It derives from the Old Swedish personal name "Tuke", itself claimed to be short form of "Thorkettill" translating as "Thors cauldron", although some say the deriavtion is from "Tiodgeir", meaning "people-spear". Spellings of the surname in the modern idiom include Tooke, Tuck, Toke, and Tuke, as well as Tookey and Tuckey. The personal name is recorded in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Toc" in Yorkshire, while Rogerus filius Toke is mentioned in the Curia Rolls of Northampton in 1214. The surname itself is first recorded in the mid 12th Century (see below). Early examples of the surname include Robert Toke in the Pipe Rolls of Suffolk in 1200; William Toke, in the Curia Rolls of Northamptonshire in 1211; and Wylliam Took, in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk in 1524. John Horne Tooke (1736 - 1812) was a notable politician and philologist in his day. Mary Took married Constantine Vernatti on March 25th 1678, at Tottenham, in London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Wrange Tocha, which was dated 1166, in the "Pipe Rolls of Norfolk", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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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