This picturesque surname of English origin has two possible sources, firstly it is a topographical name for someone who lived by a hedge or enclosure, deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century "hecg" meaning "hedge". Secondly, the name may be a locational name from a place called Heage or High Edge (Hej) in Derbyshire, deriving from the Old English pre 7th Century hea-ecg meaning "high edge or ridge". The placename is recorded as Heyheg in the Charter Rolls of 1251, as Heghegge in "The Feudal Aids of 1330, and as Heege (1471) in the "Index to the Charters and Rolls in the British Musuem". The surname dates back to the early 14th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one John Heggere (1332) "The Subsidy Rolls of Surrey". London church records include one Alice Hedger who married Thomas Warren on May 31st 1562, at Harrow on the Hill, Maxie Hedger was christened on July 14th 1585, at St. Mary Whitechapel, Stepney, and Elizabeth, daughter of William Hedger, was christened on May 22nd 1597, also at St. Mary Whitechapel. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Henry le Hegger, which was dated 1327, The Subsidy Rolls of Sussex, during the reign of King Edward 111, "The Father of the Navy", 1327 - 1377. 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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