Johncock

Of European heritage, the Johncock family name is a combination of “"Jan"” and “"Koch"”. “Jan” comes from “Jan Utenhove” born in Ghent Belgium in 1516. “Cock” is derived from the “Koch” surname from Germany.

Historically, Kochs were "beer cookers" in Germany in the 1400’s and long before. When many Kochs migrated to Belgium in the 1500's, quite a few became weavers in the Walloon region of southeastern Belgium. Koch was later changed to “LeCocq.”

The weaving industry was imported to England in the mid 1500’s and so were many French-speaking LeCocqs of Walloon. Many settled in Canterbury, a city in eastern Kent in the South East region of England.

In 1548, Jan Utenhove and Francois Perrucel founded a French-language church in room of Canterbury Cathedral. They named it the Walloon Church. One of the church’s earliest members was Den’is LeCocq. Having learned some English, Den’is decided to have an English name.Fact|date=September 2008 Since Jan Utenhove had played an important role in the church, Den’is chose “Jan” as the surname prefix. Over several generations, “Jan” transformed into “John”. The result was the “Johncock” family name.

= Jancocke Coat of Arms =

An early version of the Johncock surname was "Jancocke". The Jancocke Coat of Arms has been traced to Salisbury, England. [By Martin Johncock]

=People=

Koch, LeCocq, and Johncock are surnames of many notable people:

Scientists

* Robert Koche (1843 - 1910) won the Nobel Prize for his tuberculosis research.
* Emil Theodore Kocher (1841 – 1917) won the Nobel Prize for his work on the thyroid gland. He invented forceps (grasping pincers) which bear his name: Kocher forceps.

Artists

* Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau (1889 – 1963) was a French poet, novelist, dramatist, designer, boxing manager, playwright and filmmaker.

Athletes

* Gordon Johncock (1937 -), former racing driver, is best known as a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and 1976 USAC Marlboro Championship Trail champion.
* Graham Johncock (1982 -) is an Australian rules football player with the Adelaide Crows in the Australian Football League.
* Jack Johncock (1928 -) is an ice and roller skater, inventor of hand-skates and hand skating, performed with Sonja Henie, World King of Hand Skating (1949 - 2008), and author of historical skating books.Fact|date=September 2008
* Jerry Johncock (1928 -) has run in over 105 marathons and is the long-distance record holder for the fastest marathon time for American athletes in the 80-84 age group.Fact|date=September 2008
* Phil Johncock (1959 -) is an all-state football player and Hall of Fame athlete at Delton Kellogg High School, Delton, Michigan. He is the world record holder of 195 documented, consecutive days of practicing Bikram Yoga as of July 14, 2008.Fact|date=September 2008

=External Links=
* [http://www.johncock.com Johncock Family Name Website]
* [http://www.johncock.com/blog Johncock Family Name BLOG]
* [http://www.johncock.com/diary.htm "Family Diary of Zelpha Morehouse Johncock"]
* [http://www.johncock.com/lyndendvd.htm "Lynden’s Legacy" Documentary of the History of Gun Ho at Gun Lake, Michigan and it's designer Lynden Robert Johncock, Senior]
* [http://www.johncock.com/photobook.htm "Diary Photo Book" A Companion to "Family Diary of Zelpha Morehouse Johncock"]

References