GERKEN (German) Descendant of little Gero, a pet form of names beginning with Ger (spear), as Gerlach and Geremar. Two other patronym versions are GERKE and GERK. Frequently found in the Hamburg area. Other versions of the name (i.e., GERKING and GEREKE [this last around 1250-1350 AD]) appear frequently in Westphalia, Bremen, Hamburg, Lubeck, and Rostock. ---Sources: New Dictionary of American Family Names by Elsdon C. Smith and German Names by Hans Bahlow. Barbara Rmgalage@cs.com wrote: >I am looking for the origin of the surname GERKEN. >It is from my German line and they supposedly originated around Bremen but >that just maybe because that was the port they left from. They left Germany >in 1865. Thanks > >Robin > > >============================== >To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: >http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237 > > > >