Updated June 9, 2019

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Family name origins & meanings

  • English : occupational name for someone who bred and trained hawks, Middle English haueker (an agent derivative of haueke ‘hawk’). Hawking was a major medieval sport, and the provision and training of hawks for a feudal lord was a not uncommon obligation in lieu of rent. The right of any free man to keep hawks for his own use was conceded in Magna Carta (though social status determined what kind of bird someone could keep, the kestrel being the lowest grade).