Recorded in several spellings as shown below, this surname is English. It is locational from a place called Huckerby near the town of Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. The component elements of the placename are believed to be the Olde English pre 7th century word "hocer", cognate with the Middle High German "hocker", meaning a knob or hump, and also found as an initial element in Hockerton, Nottinghamshire, and Hockering, Norfolk, and the Scandanavian word "-by", meaning a homestead or settlement. Locational surnames, such as this, were originally given as a means of identification to those who had left their birthplace to settle elsewhere. Indifferent spelling and local dialectal differences often produced variations on the original spelling of the name, some far removed from the original form. In this case these are believed to include Huikerby, Huccaby, Huckabe, Huckerbe, Hucklesby, and Huckleby. Examples of recordings include James, son of the Thomas Huckerby, who was christened at St. Gregory by St. Paul's, London, on August 7th 1584, and Joseph Huclesby at Monken Hadley in Middlesex, on August 17th 1828. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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