Coat of Arms & Family Crests Store
Reeck Coat of Arms / Reeck Family CrestThe surname of REECK was a locational name 'of Reikie' in the parish of Alford in Aberdeenshire. It is a diminutive of Rickard or Richard. The names of local origin usually denoted where a man held his land, and indicated where he actually lived. Early records of the name mention James Reky of Dundee, who was charged with aiding the English in 1552. John Rekie appears as a witness in Leith in the year 1567. The use of fixed surnames or descriptive names appears to have commenced in France about the year 1000, and such names were introduced into Scotland through the Normans a little over one hundred years later, although the custom of using them was by no means common for many years afterwards. During the reign of Malcolm Ceannmor (1057-1093) the latter directed his chief subjects, after the custom of other nations, to adopt surnames from their territorial possessions, and there created 'The first erlis that euir was in Scotland'. The names introduced into Scotland by the Normans during the Invasion of 1066 were of three kinds. There were names of Norse origin which their ancestors had carried into Normandy; names of Germanic origin which the Frankish conquerors had brought across the Rhine and which had ousted the old Celtic and Latin names from France, and Biblical names and names of Latin and Greek saints. These names they retained even after the customs and language of the natives of Northern France had been adopted by them. After the Norman Conquest not only Normans, but Frenchmen and Bretons from other parts of France settled in England, and quite a few found their way north into Scotland. In the Middle Ages heraldry came into use as a practical matter. It originated in the devices used to distinguish the armoured warriors in tournament and war, and was also placed on seals as marks of identity. As far as records show, true heraldry began in the middle of the 12th century, and appeared almost simultaneously in several countries of Western Europe. The name has many variant spellings which include REKIE, REIKIE and RIKI. |
Orders over $90 qualify for Free Shipping within the U.S. |
