Enoch

This most interesting and unusual surname, found chiefly in France, is ultimately of ancient Greek origin, and is a French form of the medieval personal name "Enock", from the Greek "Enokh", itself from the Hebrew "Chanoch", Dedicated. This was the name borne in the Bible by the eldest son of Cain, and by the father of Methuselah, who was said to have "walked with God". In England the name is found as Enock, while in Wales, Enoch is the popular form; in Sweden patronymic forms include Eno(c)ksson and Enochsson. In France variant spellings include Enoch, Enocq, Henoch and Henocque. The name itself was introduced into England by French Huguenots fleeing religious persecution in the late 16th and early 17th Centuries. Rebecca, daughter of Guillan and Rebecca Hennic, was christened on September 7th 1600, at Threadneedle Street French Huguenot Church, London. Other early recordings include: Elie Henocq, who was christened also at the French Huguenot Church, Threadneedle Street, on November 16th 1624; Marie Henocq, born in 1636, at Coulogue, Pas-de-Calais, and who in 1657 married Abraham Ugille, at Guines, Pas-de-Calais, France. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Enoc, a charter witness, which was dated 1216, in the "Medieval Records of Wiltshire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.