This name ATACK is of the locational group of surnames meaning 'the dweller beside the oak-trees' from residence nearby. Local names usually denoted where a man held his land, and indicated where he actually lived. The name was originally derived from the old English word AC. Early records of the name mention Geoffrey atte Ock, 1296, County Surrey. Adam At the Ock was recorded in County Salop in the year of 1300. Edward Atacke of Yorkshire, was listed in the Yorkshire Poll Tax of 1379. Many factors contributed to the establishment of a surname system. For generations after the Norman Conquest of 1066 a very few dynasts and magnates passed on hereditary surnames, but the main of the population, with a wide choice of first-names out of Celtic, Old English, Norman and Latin, avoided ambiguity without the need for a second name. As society became more stabilized, there was property to leave in wills, the towns and villages grew and the labels that had served to distinguish a handful of folk in a friendly village were not adequate for a teeming slum where perhaps most of the householders were engaged in the same monotonous trade, so not even their occupations could distinguish them, and some first names were gaining a tiresome popularity, especially Thomas after 1170. The hereditary principle in surnames gained currency first in the South, and the poorer folk were slower to apply it. By the 14th century however, most of the population had acquired a second name. Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Atack was baptised at St. James's, Clerkenwell, London in the year 1709. Samuel Cooper and Christian Attack were married at St. George's, Hanover Square, London, in 1765. Miles Atack and Elizabeth Fryer were married at the same church in 1790. The name is also spelt Atock, Atwood, Atoc, Atack and Attock. At first the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function on the battlefield and in tournaments. With his helmet covering his face, and armour encasing the knight from head to foot, the only means of identification for his followers, was the insignia painted on his shield and embroidered on his surcoat, the flowing and draped garment which was worn over the armour.