The Grices and the Geaches

Speranza

"Grice" is an Anglo-Norman surname.

Geach is purely English. Oddly, Geach's father was Welsh, and his mother was German -- whereas both Grice's father and mother were English.

Recorded in several forms including Geak, Geake, Geach and Jeakes, the unusual and interesting surname of "Geach" is, as I say English.

Geach's father was George Hender Geach, born in Cardiff.

The surname Geach is particularly well recorded in the countes of Devon and Cornwall, and was, apparently a nickname for a "naive" person, whatever that may mean.

Devon or Cornwall to Cardiff is NOT a long stretch.

However given the robust humour of the medieval times as shown by the works of Chaucer and others, nick-names usually meant the OPPOSITE (via Griceian implicature of irony) of their apparent translation.

Indeed if this was not the case, they would hardly have survived.

The derivation is from the Middle English word "geche or geck", which literally means "simple".

Similarly, those who think that "Grice" is not Anglo-Norman, but Scots, note that in Scots, 'grice' means pig.

The word 'geach' is of uncertain etymology, but apparently are cognate with similar pre-seventh century Anglo-Saxon or Germanic examples.

A sizeable group of early European surnames were gradually created from the habitual use of nicknames.

The nicknames were given in the first instance with reference to a variety of characteristics.

The surname was first recorded in the late 13th Century and early recordings include:

Henry le Geke,

in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1279; and

Walter Jekkes in the 1524 Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk.

Harrye Geake and Jone Northie, were married on October 28th 1582, at Bodmin, and Degory Geake was christened on February 24th 1600 at Egloskerry, also in Cornwall.

The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Geek, which was dated 1275, in the "Hundred Rolls of Lincolnshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307.

Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling, such as "Geach".