Name of the Week

Zachary is a solid and stylish biblical name;
similar sounding Thackeray offers a literary homage and 
surname-style. 

 

Origin:

Thackeray is a locational surname derived from the Old Norse Thakvra: from  þak "thatching reeds" and vra/ra "nook," "corner of land". Put together, the two elements indicated a person who lived in a secluded or outlying part of land where thatching reeds grew. As a placename, it is generally found in Yorkshire and Cumberland — areas of Norse settlement.

Usage:

The first records in Britain of the surname Thackeray are from Poll Tax records in West Yorkshire in 1379 which mention a Johannes de Thakwra and Robertus de Thakwra, who lived in an area named Thakwra (later Thackray Beck) in Fewson in West Yorkshire. Other early examples of the surnames are written as Thackerowe, Thackarawe, Thackerey, Thackwray, Thackara, Thackra, Thackrah, Thackray and Thackaray. The surname was most prevalent in North England, most particularly in Yorkshire.  It is not surprising, then, that a handful of baptisms arise from the 16th and 17th century where Thackeray was given as a first name, and unsurprisingly, many of them were from Yorkshire. Usage of the name increased in the 19th century, thanks, perhaps in a small part, to popular satirist and novelist William Makepeace Thackeray (1811—1863). However, Thackeray's spelling was not so prevalently popular over the other surname variations (Thackray, Thackwray, Thackrah) to suggest he was the main influence. The 1851 UK census lists 14 Thackerays (in various spellings and all male), living exclusively in West Yorkshire or Durham. There are 10 listed in 1861, 16 in 1871, 24 in 1881, 19 in 1891, 23 in 1901 and 19 in 1911. In all of these cases, the vast majority were living in West Yorkshire. During the 20th century there have been very few registrations of the name in England: 3 in the 1920s, 1 in 1946, and the last - a Thackeray Leo - was registered in 1974.  Thackeray is also found as an Indian surname, serving as an anglicised spelling for a very similar Hindi name.

Famous Bearers:

History:  * William Makepeace Thackeray (1811–1863), popular Victorian satirist and novelist. * Andrew David Thackeray (1910–1978), British astonomer. Media: * Thackery Binks, character in the film Hocus Pocus (1993). Other: * SS Thackeray, a heavy lift ship built in 1945.

Variants:

Thackery, Thackray, Thackwray

Pronunciation:

THAK-ə-ree [key]

Possible diminutives:

Cary, Harry, Kay, Ray, Thax

Sibling Names:

Jemima     Audrey     Vanessa     Caroline     Anneliese     Vivian  Marcus     Fletcher     Nathaniel     Grayson     Montgomery     Jeremiah

Name Lists:

Br-ee-zily Pl-ee-sing Surnames

 

If you like Thackeray you may also like:   Rafferty, Broderick, Malachy, Thatcher, Karsten, Maximilian, Xander, Kingsley, Fraser, Thurston

 

Thanks to Maddy for requesting Thackeray.