Origin of the Name Croke
family history was found in the allfamilycrests.com archives. Meaning 'of Crook' the name Croke is a locational name from County Lancashire. Variants include Crook, Crooke, Krook and Crooker. This name is of Anglo-Saxon descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland , Scotland , and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout these countries. Examples of such are a Thomas de Crokes and a Johannes de Cruke who were recorded in the 'Poll Tax' of the West Riding of Yorkshire, England , in the year 1379. In Scotland a John Cruikis was a merchant and burgess in Irving, in the year 1635.
Names were recorded in these ancient documents to make it easier for their overlords to collect taxes and to keep records of the population at any given time. When the overlords acquired land by either force or gifts from their rulers, they created charters of ownership for themselves and their vassals. It was by creating, maintaining and updating these reference books that they were able to maintain their authority and enforce laws.
In Ireland the name Croke has been found in records in County Tipperary since as early as the thirteenth century. The Gaelic form of the name is Croc.
The Croke coat of arms came into existence centuries ago. The process of creating coats of arms (also often called family crests) began in the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this. The new art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own coat of arms, including all Croke descendants.