This interesting surname derives from the Old French helgot or the Old German Helgaud, itself coming from the Old German Hildegaud or the Old French Eligaud, the first element is from the Germanic "hild" meaning battle and the second element is of unknown origin. In the Domesday Book of 1086, the personal name Helgot appears in Buckinghamshire, Devonshire and Staffordshire, and Helgod is recorded in Shropshire. The surname is first recorded in the later half of the 13th Century, (see below). One Philippus Filius Helgoy is registered in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire (1185). John Elgood is recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of Suffolk (1524). On December 24th 1751, the marriage of John Elgood to Margaret Wharne, took place at St. Martin in the Fields, Westminster, and the christening of Mary, daughter of John and Mary Elgood, took place on October 15th 1797, at St. Leonards, Shoreditch, London. In the modern idiom the name is found as Allgood, Ellgood and Elegood. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Algod, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Buckinghamshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1303. 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.

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