11,279 CROOKS members around the world

CROOKS Family History

This interesting surname is of Old Norse origin, and has two possible related sources, one habitational, and the other occupational. If the former, the name may be either topographical in origin, from residence by a bend in a river or road, derived from the Middle English "crok", ultimately from the Old Norse "krokr", crook, bend; or locational, from any of the various places in the north of England named with this word. These places include Crook in Durham, Lancashire and Westmorland, and Crookes in the West Riding of Yorkshire. Topographical surnames were among the earliest created, since both natural and man-made features in the landscape provided easily recognizable distinguishing names in the small communities of the Middle Ages...