Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
 Tackaberry Coat of Arms / Tackaberry Family CrestThe surname of TACKABERRY is a variant of Thackaberry. Families of this west of England name came to County Wickford in the mid-seventeenth century, and their descendants are still there and in County Wexford. The name spelt without the H - as Tackaberry, is nearer the form in which it first appeared in Ireland, viz Tacabray. The name is also spelt Tacker and Thacker. Early records of the name mention William le Thekere, 1273, County Norfolk. William Thakere of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. This is an ancient Yorkshire name, recorded in the area of Knaresborough Forest in the 14th century. Its forms included Thakras and Thakwras. Probably the most famous bearer of the name was the novelist William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-63), author of Vanity Fair (1848). His given names commemorated an ancestor, William Makepeace, a Protestant martyr in the reign of Mary Tudor. At first the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function on the battlefield and in tournaments. With his helmet covering his face, and armour encasing the knight from head to foot, the only means of identification for his followers, was the insignia painted on his shield and embroidered on his surcoat, the draped and flowing garment worn over the armour. Originally the coat of arms identified the wearer, either in battle or in tournaments. Completely covered in body and facial armour the knight could be spotted and known by the insignia painted on his shield, and embroidered on his surcoat, the draped garment which enveloped him. Between the 11th and 15th centuries it became customary for surnames to be assumed in Europe, but were not commonplace in England or Scotland before the Norman Conquest of 1066. They are to be found in the Domesday Book of 1086. Those of gentler blood assumed surnames at this time, but it was not until the reign of Edward II (1307-1327) that second names became general practice for all people. Ireland was one of the earliest countries to evolve a system of hereditary surnames. They came into being fairly generally in the 11th century, and indeed a few were formed before the year 1000. |
