Forker - Name

This interesting and unusual name is of Irish and Scottish origin and is the modern Irish form of the Old Gaelic personal name "Fearchar". The derivation is from the Old Celtic elements meaning "man" and "dear" or "beloved". In the modern idiom, the variants include "Farguar, Faraker, Farragher, Farguhar and Forker". In its present form it is almost exclusively found in Counties Mayo and Galway, and in the form Fraher in South Munster. As a clan or sept in Scotland they are descended from the Laird of Macintosh who came from Braemar circa 1382. One Ann Faragher the daughter of James Faragher and Biddy Moran was christened on the 13th of May 1864 at Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Ireland. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Andro Farchare, "Burgess of Are", which was dated 1450, in Ayreshire, Scotland, during the reign of King James 11 of Scotland, 1437 - 1460. 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.