This unusual and interesting name is a variant of Haggart which has two possible and related origins. The first of these is from a medieval nickname for someone who was thought to be "wild" or "untamed", from the Middle English and Old French "hagard", thought to be derived from an Old Germanic word meaning "hedge", here implying something unenclosed, i.e. wild. A sizeable group of early European surnames were gradually created from the habitual use of nicknames. The nicknames were given in the first instance with reference to occupation, or to a variety of characteristics, such as physical attributes or peculiarities, mental and moral characteristics, supposed resemblance to an animal's or bird's appearance or disposition, or to habits of dress. The name Haggard or Haggart could also have been an occupational name for a falconer, because the word became a technical term in falconry during the Middle Ages, denoting a hawk that had been captured and trained when already fully grown, rather than being reared in captivity. Other variations of the surname are Haggar, Haggard and Hagger. John Hagger married Anne Smith on December 9th 1606, at St. Peter-le-Poer, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Ivo Hacgard, which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Suffolk", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. 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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