Recorded in several spelling forms including Chag, Chagg, Shag, Shagg, Chug, Chugg, Shug, Shugg and Shegg, this is believed to be an English surname but of French origins. It is said to be a dialectual transposition of the surname Hugg, a nickname surname which derives from the personal name Hugh and which as a surname is usually found as Huggett or Little Hugg. A similar transposition, although not as rare, is the surname Chubb, which was originally 'The son of Job' until 'sharpened' in the medieval period to the existing form. It is claimed that the modern spelling usually to be found as Chugg, is probably from the West Country of England and specifically the counties of Devon and Somerset, but we are not able to offer conclusive evidence. It would seem that the name development may include Henriciet Ugge, in the 'Curia Regis' rolls forthe county of Yorkshire, and Galfridus Hugg also in the Yorkshire rolls in 1301. Early church register recordings include Henry Chagge, a witness at All Hallows church, London Wall, on November 19th 1564, Christopher Chug, at St Margarets, Westminster, on July 2nd 1620, and much later in Victorian times, Mary Chugg, who married Humphry Toms Davy (as spelt) at the famous church of St Brides, Fleet Street, London, on April 1st 1845. The first recorded spelling of the family name may be that of William Hugge. If so this was dated 1180, in the Curia Regis rolls of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Henry II, known as 'The church builder, 1154 - 1189. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop", often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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