The surname of BLAKER was of Norse origin, the name has been in County Armagh since the 17th century. The name was found early in England as BLAEC, a name meaning 'black-army'. The name was brought into England in the wake of the Norman Invasion of 1066. It was also an occupational name 'a bleacher'. Occupational surnames refer directly to the particular trade or occupation followed by the first bearer of the name. These occupations can be divided into classes such as agricultural, manufacturing, retailing and so on. In the Middle Ages, at least among the Christian population, people did not pursue specialized occupations exclusively to the extent that we do today. Smiths, millers and wrights were indeed specialists, but even they would normally have their own smallholdings for growing crops and keeping a few animals. Others were simply designated as the servant of some person of a higher social status, as a maid or parson. BLACRE (without surname) who was listed as a tenant-in-chief in the Domesday Book of 1086, appears to be the first of the name on record, and Ricardus filius Blacker was documented in the year 1200 in County Norfolk. Other records of the name mention Blakere of the County of Norfolk in 1047. Roger Blacker of the County of Lancashire in 1246. Ralph Blacker of the County of Essex in 1291. Roger le Blakere, was listed in the Parliament Writs of 1312. William Blacker of County Wiltshire, registered at Oxford University in the year 1605, and Edward Blacker of Wiltshire enroled there in 1610. In many parts of central and western Europe, hereditary surnames began to become fixed at around the 12th century, and have developed and changed slowly over the years. As society became more complex, and such matters as the management of tenure, and in particular the collection of taxes were delegated to special functionaries, it became imperative to distinguish a more complex system of nomenclature to differentiate one individual from another. The associated arms are recorded in Sir Bernard Burkes General Armory. The arms were granted to Carrick Blacker, County Armagh. |
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