Dowker - Name

This very unusual name is job descriptive and is believed to be a derivative of the medieval "Dowler" i.e. a maker of headless pegs used for securing ships and building frames. The origin is Old German "Dovel" a word introduced in the 7th Century A.D.. However, it is also possible that the name is a South Eastern variant of the Medieval job descriptive "Bouken" meaning a dyer of cotton. Eitherway the name is found in Kent as shown, although oddly in 1729, a Richard Dowker married Susan Nepecher, also at Canterbury Cathedral, and may have been the same person. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Dowker. which was dated 1725, Married Ann Marrison at Canterbury Cathedral. during the reign of King George I, The First Hanoverian, 1714 - 1727. 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.