Tucknott

This very unusual and interesting surname is a developed form of the Old French "Taconet", a job descriptive metonymic diminutive which derives from the elements "Tacon" meaning a Salmon (fisherman), plus "petit" to give "Little Salmon" or probably "Son of Salmon". The earliest recording date suggests that the original name holders into England were probably huguenot refugees but this is not proven. The variant spelling as "Tucknott" is an anglicization and was probably deliberately done to camouflage the original French origin, at the time of the Napoleonic Wars (1794-1815). Examples of the name recordings include Charles Taconet who married Martha Moor at St. Georges, London on September 14th 1788, and Elizabeth Tucknott who married Thomas Glasgow at St. James church, Paddington, on July 16th 1843. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Callisti Remy, Taconet, which was dated February 13th 1781, married Mary Pearson in London by Civil Licence, during the reign of King George 111, "Farmer George", 1760 - 1820. 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.