This most intriguing name is of Anglo-Saxon or early medieval English origin, and is found principally in the Eastern counties of Norfolk and Suffolk. Firstly, Blogg may be a variant form of the surnames Bloke or Blagg, which derives from the Olde English pre 7th Century adjective "blok(e), bloc, blac", pale, fair, shining. This was used as a nickname or byname for someone considered to be of a noticeably pale complexion, or with very fair hair, and gradually developed into a surname. Secondly, the surname may be a variant of Block, which derives from the Middle English "bloc", from the same Old French term, to block, and is an occupational surname for one who blocks, especially in shoemaking and bookbinding. Benedict Blok is recorded in the Suffolk Subsidy Rolls of 1327, and Deodatus le Blokkere is listed in the Norfolk Hundred Rolls of 1275. The modern surname forms range from Block, Bloke and Bloggs, to Blagg and Blugg. Examples from Church Registers include: the marriage of John Blogg and Katheren Pitcher at Barney in Norfolk, on November 27th 1542; the christening of John Blocke on July 16th 1548, at Kelsale in Suffolk; and the marriage of Thomisin Blogge and Edward Wels in Lowestoft, Suffolk, on November 20th 1617. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Bloc, which was dated 1199, in the "Curia Regis Rolls of Wiltshire", during the reign of King Richard 1, known as "Richard the Lionheart", 1189 - 1199. 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.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research 1980 - 2024