KERSLAKE
The surname Kerslake is of English origin, belonging to the class of locational surnames that denote a particular geographical feature. It is found primarily within the British Isles, specifically in England, where its earliest documented instances appear in the county of Somerset.
The name derives from the Old English words carr (meaning “rock”) and lacu (meaning “stream”). As such, the original bearer of the name was most likely a person who lived in close proximity to a rocky stream, a landscape that would have been a distinctive landmark to his contemporaries.
In the southwestern region of England – notably in Devon and Cornwall – the surname appears with greater frequency. This concentration reflects the geographic dependence of the name’s meaning and its continuity within a limited area of the country.
During the medieval period a related phenomenon of “lost” villages contributed to the spread of locational surnames such as Kerslake. These villages were named from pre‑7th‑century Old English words caerse or cerse (watercress) and lacu (stream or lake), describing a stream where water‑cress grew. The clearance of arable land in the 12th and 13th centuries to make way for sheep pasture, in the height of the wool industry, caused many such villages to vanish from the map. For those who left their birthplace seeking work elsewhere, adopting the placename as an identifier resulted in a wide dispersal of the surname.
The modern spelling of the name therefore appears in several variants, including Carslake, Caslake, Keslake, Karslake and Kerslake. The record of the marriage of William Keslake and Elizabeth Stephens on 7 May 1626 at Barnstaple illustrates the surname’s endurance in the Devonshire area.
The earliest extant spelling is that of Ranulph de Carselak, dated 1279 and preserved in the Assize Rolls of Somerset during the reign of King Edward I (1272–1307), who was known by the sobriquet “The Hammer of the Scots.” This document confirms the antiquity of the surname and provides a concrete anchor for its genealogical study.
Today, Kerslake remains a surname of clear locational heritage, testifying to the enduring influence of Old English topography on English nomenclature. Its presence from the medieval period to the present day offers a fascinating insight into the ways in which landscape, economy, and migration shape personal identity.
Typical given names associated with the Kerslake surname
Male
- Andrew
- Anthony
- David
- James
- John
- Mark
- Martin
- Michael
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
Female
- Claire
- Doreen
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Helen
- Jennifer
- Karen
- Lesley
- Margaret
- Michelle
- Nicola
- Ruth
- 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 Kerslake in...
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There are approximately 1,790 people named Kerslake in the UK. That makes it roughly the 4,616th most common surname in Britain. Around 27 in a million people in Britain are named Kerslake.
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 Kerslake
- Lee Kerslake - Musician
- Camilla Kerslake - Singer
- David Kerslake - Football player
- Roy Kerslake - Cricketer
- Phil Kerslake - New Zealand broadcaster
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.