Croxall

This most interesting and unusual surname is of English locational origin from a place called "Croxall" near Burton-upon-Trent, on the river Mease in Staffordshire. The place-name, recorded as "Crokeshalle" in 942 in the Cartularium Saxonicum, and "Crocheshalle" in the Domesday Book of 1086, means "Croc's hall". Croc derives from the Old Norse personal name "krokr", the Old Danish "krok", or the Old Swedish "krioker", all coming from "krokr", a hook. The second element is "hall", the Anglo Saxon word for "hall, residence". Locational names were originally given as a means of identification to those who left their village or place of origin to settle elsewhere. Henry Croxall, son of Stephan Croxall was christened on August 11th 1567 at Tamworth, Staffordshire. The London Church Registers record the christening of Richard, son of Thomas Croxall at St. Botolph without Aldgate on October 28th 1604. Samuel Croxall (deceased 1752) was a writer who was educated at Cambridge; he was ordained Archdeacon of Shropshire in 1732 and Chancellor of Hereford in 1738. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Dorothe Croxall, christened, which was dated December 31st 1557 at Tamworth, Staffordshire, during the reign of Queen Mary, known as "Mary Queen of Scots". 1553 - 1558. 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.