This unusual name is of English locational origin, from a place originally so called but today known as 'Dagdale', near Uttoxeter in Staffordshire. The derivation of the name is from the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name 'Ducca', with the Old Norse word 'dalr' or Olde English 'dael' meaning 'valley'. Placenames with the element 'dal' or '- dale' are most often found in areas of Scandinavian settlement such as the midland and north - eastern counties of England. The modern - day surname is found chiefly in Lancashire and Yorkshire. The wills of the following were recorded in Chester in 1596 and 1612 respectively: 'John Dugdale of Chatburn' and 'Nicholas Dugdale' of Clitheroe'. One 'William Dugdale' was married to 'Deborah Martin' at St. George's, Hanover Square, London in 1741. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Agnes Doghdale, which was dated 1379, The Poll Tax Records of Yorkshire, during the reign of King Richard II, Richard of Bordeaux, 1377 - 1399. 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.