Ketcher - Name

This unusual and interesting name is of English origin and is a dialectal variant of Catcher, which is a nickname surname for a huntsman. The derivation being from the Middle English 13th Century 'Cachere' one who Chases or drives. It was probably also used in the same sense as a diminutive 'cacherel', which is found in Norfolk as a name of office as well as a surname denoting a bailiff, eg., Richard Wyche, Cacherel, is recorded in the Hundred Rolls in 1275. It is also probable that the name could apply to a hare catcher or a nickname for one 'speedy as a hare' as we have recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Cambridgeshire of 1204 one, William Kacchehare. An early recording of this surname is found in London with the christening of one Ann Ketcher, daughter of Edwards and Ann Ketcher on 20th December 1618 at St. Bride, Fleet Street. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Kaccher, which was dated 1200, Pipe Rolls of London, during the reign of King John, Lackland, 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.