The ancient history of the Okoun name begins with the ancient Anglo-Saxon
tribes of Britain. The name is derived from when the family resided in Yorkshire
. The surname Okoun is associated with the parish of Acomb,
which was located on the outskirts of the city of York.
Early Origins of the Okoun family
The surname Okoun was first found in Yorkshire
, at Acomb which is now a suburb within the City of York Unitary Authority. The place name is most likely derived from the Old English acum, which meant "at the oak trees." The village dates back to at least the Domesday Book
where it was listed as Achum, Acum and Acun, and was land held by the Archbishop of York. The village was designated as a manor held by St. Peter. There was land enough for 8 ploughs and there were 14 rent-paying tenants. CITATION[CLOSE]
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
By 1222, the village was listed as Akum. CITATION[CLOSE]
Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4) East and West Acomb, Northumberland have traditionally been quite a bit smaller than the Yorkshire village with West Acomb being the larger of the two. In both of these latter cases, the first record of the place name was with the Akum spelling in 1268. Hadrian's Wall runs about 1 mile (1.5 km), north east of Acomb, Northumberland.
Some of the first records of the family were Philip de Akum, who was registered in Yorkshire in 1210 CITATION[CLOSE]
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X) and Willelmus de Acom who was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. CITATION[CLOSE]
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Early History of the Okoun family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Okoun research.Another 209 words (15 lines of text) covering the years 1086, 1325, 1379, 1525, 1574, 1670, 1692 and 1767 are included under the topic Early Okoun History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Okoun Spelling Variations
Until quite recently, the English language has lacked a definite system of spelling rules. Consequently, Anglo-Saxon
surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations
. Changes in Anglo-Saxon
names were influenced by the evolution of the English language, as it incorporated elements of French, Latin, and other languages. Although Medieval scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded, so it is common to find one person referred to by several different spellings of his surname, even the most literate people varied the spelling of their own names. Variations of the name Okoun include Acombe, Acomb, Acome, Acom, Acum, Akum, A Combe and others.
Early Notables of the Okoun family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Okoun Notables in all our PDF Extended History products
and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Okoun family to Ireland
Some of the Okoun family moved to Ireland
, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.Another 78 words (6 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Okoun family to the New World and Oceana
Searching for a better life, many English families migrated to British colonies. Unfortunately, the majority of them traveled under extremely harsh conditions: overcrowding on the ships caused the majority of the immigrants to arrive diseased, famished, and destitute from the long journey across the ocean. For those families that arrived safely, modest prosperity was attainable, and many went on to make invaluable contributions to the development of the cultures of the new colonies. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Okoun or a variant listed above: Robert Acom who settled in Virginia in 1642; and Thomas Acome who settled in Virginia in 1642.