Becker

This unusual and interesting name has its origins in both England and Germany and two possible meanings. The first of these is as a topographical name for someone who lived by a stream, and derives from the Middle High German 'bach' or from the Old English pre 7th century 'boece' or 'bece' meaning a stream or beck. The second source is from the Olde English 'boecere' Middle English 'bakere' and is an occupational name for a baker. It would have been used for the person with responsibility for baking bread in the kitchen of a great household, or for the owner of a communal oven used by the whole village. In the latter case, the right to run this oven and change money or loaves in return for its use was often a hereditary feudal privilege. The 's' of Beckers is the patronymic form and means 'son of'. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alicia Beckar which was dated 1379 in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns during the reign of King Richard 11, known as Richard of Bordeaux 1377-1399 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.