This rare name appears to be quite straight forward, but in fact, is not so at all. It is almost certainly a derivative, dialectual transposition from the Olde English "Feld-drak" and is a nickname for somebody who either hunted Game Birds, or perhaps was of cautious nature. Literally, the name means "The Little Bustard". The earliest original recording being Ricardus Feldrak in the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379. The name as Fieldgate being first recorded in 17th Century London. The first development includes Samuel Fieldgate recorded at St. Giles in 1720 whilst Benjamin Fieldgate was christened at St. Mary Whitechapel in 1736 and William Fieldgate married Kezia Norman at St. Leonards, Shoreditch in 1852. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Fieldgate. which was dated 1668, Baptised at St. Giles, Cripplegate, London. during the reign of King Charles 11, known as the Merry Monarch, 1660 - 1685. 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.