Lovelock - Name

Recorded in the spellings of Lovelock and Loveluck, this is an English surname. It is of medieval origins and was originally a nickname for a 'dandy'. The derivation is from the phrase "lovelock", a lock of hair, sometimes an artificial one, curling over the forehead or ears, in a variety of fashionable styles. The surname is a good example of a sizeable group of early Europeans surnames that were gradually created from the habitual use of nicknames. The nicknames were given in the first instance with reference to a variety of characteristics, including appearance or disposition, and habits of dress and occupation. Richard Barnfield's pastoral poem "The Affectionate Shepherd", printed in 1594, contains the following: "Why should thy sweete love-locke hang dangling downe, kissing thy girdle-stud with falling pride?" Examples of the early recordings taken from surviving church registers of the period include the marriages of John Lovelock and Jone Butler on November 16th 1669 at St. Giles, Cripplegate, and of Francis Lovelock and Katherin Dally on January 20th 1690 at St. Mary Magdalene, Old Fish Street, both city of London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Louelok, which was dated 1327, in the Subsidy Rolls of Essex, during the reign of King Edward 111, 1327 - 1377. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.