STRAKER

The surname Straker was first found in Lancashire where they held a family seat as Lords of the Manor. The Saxon influence of English history diminished after the Battle of Hastings in 1066. The language of the courts was French for the next three centuries and the Norman ambience prevailed. But Saxon surnames survived and the family name was first referenced in the year 1246 when Robert Straker held lands.The surname of STRAKER was derived from the Old English word 'stracian' an occupational name 'the striker'. Occupational surnames refer directly to the particular trade or occupation followed by the first bearer of the name. These occupations can be divided into classes such as agricultural, manufacturing, retailing and so on. In the Middle Ages, at least among the Christian population, people did not pursue specialised occupations exclusively to the extent that we do today. Smiths, millers and wrights were indeed specialists, but even they would normally have their own smallholdings for growing crops and keeping a few animals. Others were simply designated as the servant of some person of a higher social status, as a maid or parson. One of the clauses of the Magna Carta provided that there should be one measure of corn, namely the London quarter. Local custom, however, was stronger than the national law, and there was a constant struggle between law and custom over the bushel and quarter. By statute the quarter should obtain 8 bushels, each of eight gallons, 'striked' and the official responsible for the accuracy of the measure was called the 'straker or striker'. Prior to the Invasion of William the Conqueror in 1066, no one had surnames, only christian or nicknames in England. Based on this, and our physical attributes, we were given surnames incorporating tax codes to show trades, areas in which we lived, as today we have street names and numbers. Surnames were used in France and like speaking countries from about the year 1000, and a few places had second names even earlier. Even early monarchs had additions to show attributes and character, for example Ethelred (red-hair) the Unready (never prepared). Edward I was named 'Longshanks' because of his long legs, and Richard III was called 'Crouchback' owing to his deformed shoulder. Early records of the name mention Robert le Straker, 1246, County Lancashire. William Strakour, 1327, County Surrey. Edward Stryke of Yorkshire was documented in 1379, and William Strike appeared in London in the year 1400.

This unusual and very interesting name is an early medieval English occupational surname for someone who was employed to maintain the accuracy of a measure of corn by passing a flat stick or "strike" over the rim of the vessel holding the grain, thus levelling the grain and removing any excess. The derivation is from the Old English pre 7th Century "striccan" or "straccian" to stroke or smooth, Middle English "strike(n)". This was an important and responsible position in medieval England, particularly since there was some dispute over the measure to be used. The terms of Magna Carta (1215) provided for one measure of corn (the London quarter) to be used nationally, and there was a constant struggle between local custom and law. The modern surname can be found as Strike, Striker and Straker. One John Straker married Dorethe Farefax on the 27th May 1543 at St. Michael's Bassishaw in London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Nicholas Stryke, which was dated 1296, in the Sussex Subsidy Rolls, during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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.

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