Surname: Brooker
This interesting surname derives from two possible origins. Firstly it may be of English topographical origin from the Old English word "broc", abrook, stream, plus the agent suffix "-er", used to describe a dweller at, hence "dweller at the brook". There is also a place called Brook in Kentand Wiltshire, from the same Old English word "broc" as above. Also the name may be an occupational name used to denote a broker, originating fromthe Anglo-French word "brocour", one who sells an agent in business transactions. The earliest recordings of the surname appear in the 13th Century(see below). John le Brouker was recorded in the 1327, Subsidy Rolls of Sussex. William le Brocker was listed in the 1326, Feet of fines Rolls. TheClose Rolls in 1332, record a Elena Brocker. Kirby's Quest for Somerset recorded an Adam Brocker in 1328. Geoffrey Broker, aged 17, an immigrant tothe New World, sailed aboard the "Merchant's Hope", bound for Virginia in July 1635. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to bethat of William Brokere, which was dated 1296, Subsidy Rolls of Sussex, during the reign of King Edward 1, "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, surnamesin every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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