Tooker   by Warren Tooker

Existing genealogy records in America for both Tooker and Tucker often go back to John Tucker who emigrated from England to the American Colonies to escape religious persecution—he was a Puritan. It is not definitely know why the Tookers used the Tucker form of the name for a time, but perhaps it was to escape religious or political persecution. It appears they began to use the Tooker spelling again at about the time of the restoration of King Charles II (1660). John’s son, known as Captain John Tooker (1692), became a prominent citizen of Long Island, NY, and his brother, Charles, was one of the original founders of Elizabeth Towne, NJ.

Most American Tookers are likely related through Captain John or his brother, Charles. The names Tucker and Tooker existed in England prior to the founding of the American Colonies. The Tooker form of the name was found mainly around Bideford in Devon in the south of England. The exhaustive Dictionary of Surnames (Hanks & Hodges, Oxford University Press) does not list Tooker either separately, or with the surname Tucker, so the name is not generally recognized in Britain, and only a few Tookers are found in present day telephone books there. Regarding Tucker, the Dictionary of Surnames says: