This rare and interesting surname has covered a lot of ground in the thousand years or so since its entry on the shores of England. Its origination is from the Old German "Fulco" which means literally "the people", and as such developed several dozen variant spellings, of which this is one of the least numerous examples. These variants range from Folk, Folkes and Foulkes to Vokes, Volk, Valk and Valkes, examples appearing in the 1086 Domesday Book, although not as surnames. As a personal name "Folk" is recorded as late as the 16th Century, Foke Odell being recorded in the 1503 Parliamentary Rolls of Northampton. The surname recordings include the following examples and "link" spellings: Richard Foulk in the Rolls of Cornwall in 1297; and William Vulke in the 1336 Rolls of Essex. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, Francis Vollocke is recorded on August 31st 1560 at Christ Church, London, as marrying Katherine Hall, and this seems to be the first appearance in the "modern" spelling. On November 18th 1806, Joseph Vallack married Mary Southey at St. Pancras, Old Church, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Fulco, which was dated 1227, witness in the "Assize Rolls of Staffordshire", 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.

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