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Help[Facts] Boakes
Hi, I'm am trying to find out the meaning of the surname 'Boakes'. Purely out of interest on behalf of a friend who has always wondered and never been able to find out.
He says there are a concentration of people with the Boakes surname in Kent, England. He wonders if it is simply a form (dialectic) of Boats....I suspect not but wonder if anyone out there knows????????
Many Thanks in Advance...
David
He says there are a concentration of people with the Boakes surname in Kent, England. He wonders if it is simply a form (dialectic) of Boats....I suspect not but wonder if anyone out there knows????????
Many Thanks in Advance...
David
1
Replies
The most convincing theory I've heard is that it's a derivative of Bowmaker, via Bowker and Boaker.
I've also heard stories of a Kent link but haven't personally investigated it - this would fit in with the archery theme, being an area of relatively fertile flat-ish land, where yew trees grow, and also being between London and France, where bowmakers would have been able to make a good living around 1000 years ago.
I've also heard stories of a Kent link but haven't personally investigated it - this would fit in with the archery theme, being an area of relatively fertile flat-ish land, where yew trees grow, and also being between London and France, where bowmakers would have been able to make a good living around 1000 years ago.
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