Churcher

This rare and interesting name is of medieval English origin and has two possible meanings, both occupational. "Curch" is a Scottish word recorded in 1447, used to describe a kerchief, formerly worn instead of a cap or mutch, and a curcher may have been a maker of these, or perhaps a person who wore a distinctive headcovering. The derivation in this instance is from the Old French 'couvreches'. However, this surname may also be an occupational name for an early churchwarden or one who kept the parish room. Job-descriptive surnames originally denoted the actual occupation of the namebearer, and later became hereditary. Curcher in this instance is a dialectal variant of the name Churcher. Amongst the sample recordings in London is the christening of Robarte Curcher on May 19th 1605 at St. Andrew's, Enfield. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Joanches Curche, which was dated April 15th 1546, in Mashbury, Essex, during the reign of King Henry V111, known as "Good King Hal", 1509 - 1547. 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.