European surnames first occurred between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries, with some patronymic surnames in Scandinavia being acquired as late as the nineteenth century. Prior to this time period, particularly during the "Dark Ages" between the fifth and eleventh centuries, people were largely illiterate, lived in rural areas or small villages, and had little need of distinction beyond their given names. During Biblical times people were often referred to by their given names and the locality in which they resided such as "Jesus of Nazareth." However, as populations grew, the need to identify individuals by surnames became a necessity. The acquisition of surnames during the past eight hundred years has been affected by many factors, including social class and social structure, cultural tradition, and naming practices in neighboring cultures. The majority of surnames are derived from patronymics, i.e. the forming of a surname from the father's given name such as Johnson, meaning literally "the son of John." In some rare cases, the naming practice was metronymic, wherein the surname was derived from the mother's give name such as Catling, Marguerite or Dyott. Other popular methods of origin for surnames are derived from place names or geographical names such as England, occupational names such as Smith or Carpenter in the British Isles; Schmidt or Zimmerman in Germany, etc. Less popular methods of surname origins include house names such as Rothchild, surnames derived from nicknames of physical descriptions such as Blake or Hoch, or after one's character such as Stern or Gentle. In some cases an individual was named after a bird or an animal such as Lamb for a gentle or inoffensive person, while Fox was used for a person who was cunning. Surnames were also derived from anecdotal events such as Death and Leggatt, or seasons such as Winter and Spring, and status such as Bachelor, Knight and Squire. Surname spelling and pronunciation has evolved over centuries, with our current generation often unaware of the origin and evolution of their surnames. Among the humbler classes of European society, and especially among the illiterate, individuals had little choice but to accept the mistakes of officials, clerks, and priests who officially bestowed upon them new versions of their surnames, just as they had meekly accepted the surnames which they were born with. And then we have Bunkers. Historical references to the name date to the 1300s. Bunkers were in Devonshire in the late 1300s and in Bedfordshire by the mid 1400s. We have no idea why the name was chosen as it does not seem to be the name of a parent, place or physical description. It could possibly be from someone that worked loading things into the hold of a ship (bunker) or who lived in or near a fortified building. Or maybe it derives from Bon Coeur (good heart). There has not yet been found an instance of the name appearing in Europe before the 1300s with the exception of Sir William Bon Coeur/Bonquer, 1216-1272; John, William and Alice Bonquer 1272-1307; William le Bunkyer 1307-1327; and Clarice Brounker/Bonker/Boukar 1327-1377, all in England. The DNA surname project has shown that there are two distinct Bunker families in England. The Devonshire family is in Haplogroup R1b. Haplogroup R1b is the most common haplogroup in European populations. It is believed to have expanded throughout Europe as humans re-colonized after the last glacial maximum 10-12 thousand years ago. This lineage is also the haplogroup containing the Atlantic modal haplotype (the most common along the Atlantic). The Bedfordshire family is in Haplogroup I. The I, I1, and I1a lineages are nearly completely restricted to northwestern Europe. These would most likely have been common within Viking populations. One lineage of this group extends down into central Europe. It appears as if there were two men living in England at least by the time that people began to regularly use a surname. These two men were not even remotely related but both chose the name of Bunker. Prior to the choice of a surname, it would be impossible to trace their ancestry except under unusual circumstances. For instance, you can usually trace royal families back before the use of surnames but not the common person. You can also trace the Welsh as they commonly just added a name every generation and deleted one 7 generations back. But the Bunkers do not seem to be Welsh. And they do not seem to be descended from royalty. I do not think we will be able to trace our ancestors back before they came to England because they were there so early. We keep looking at earlier records in the hope of finding earlier ancestors but so far this is as far back as we can go. Bette ____________________________________________ Check out the Bunker Family Association. http://www.bunkerfamilyassn.org. If your name is Bunker and you are a male, consider joining our surname DNA project.