CRICK
Crick is an English surname that first appears in historical records in the late thirteenth century.
The derivation of the name is linked to locations in the British Isles. Two places bear the name Crick: one in Northamptonshire and another in the former county of Monmouthshire. The Northamptonshire place is recorded as Crec in the Domesday Book of 1086 and later as Kreic in 1201, with its name stemming from the Old British pre‑Roman word cruc meaning a hill. The Monmouthshire settlement derives its name from the Welsh word creic, meaning a rock. Locational surnames such as Crick were typically adopted by the lord of the manor and by former inhabitants who migrated to other towns or cities.
While the locational origin is well documented, the surname has also been proposed to have descriptive roots. One theory holds that it comes from the Old English word crycce, which refers to a crutch or staff; in this sense Crick could have been a nickname for an individual who used a crutch or who walked in a distinctive manner. An alternative interpretation connects the name with the Old English word crecca, meaning creek or stream, suggesting that in some cases the surname may have identified people who lived near such watercourses.
Records show the surname existing in ecclesiastical documents, for example the marriage of Dorrithy Crick to Stephen Birtbeck on 29 May 1620 at St. Giles Cripplegate in London, and the christening of Mary Crickson on 17 January 1699 at the same church. The earliest dated spelling identified in the Hundred Rolls of 1273 is Barthholomew de Crekke, a landowner in Suffolk, placing the name firmly within the reign of King Edward I, 1272‑1307.
In addition to the base form Crick, a rare patronymic extension, Crickson, is recorded. The origins of the patronymic form remain unclear, but it appears in later church registers and was used alongside the original surname in the seventeenth century.
The Crick surname is relatively uncommon today, with the greatest concentration of bearers in England and a smaller presence in the United States. Its history reflects a blend of locational identity and linguistic evolution within the English-speaking world of the British Isles.
Typical given names associated with the Crick surname
Male
- Andrew
- David
- James
- John
- Karl
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- Simon
- Stephen
Female
- Ann
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Jane
- Jennifer
- Joanne
- Julie
- Linda
- Louise
- Margaret
- Patricia
- Pauline
- Sarah
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Crick in...
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There are approximately 2,857 people named Crick in the UK. That makes it roughly the 3,124th most common surname in Britain. Around 44 in a million people in Britain are named Crick.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Crick
- Francis Crick - Molecular biologist, biophysicist, neuroscientist; co-discoverer of the structure of DNA (1916 to 2004)
- Michael Crick - Journalist
- Bernard Crick - Political theorist and democratic socialist (1929 to 2008)
- Odile Crick - Artist (1920 to 2007)
- Harry Crick - Cricketer (1910 to 1960)
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.