This unusual and interesting name is of medieval English origin and is a topographical name for someone who lived in a flax growing area, and derives from the Old English pre 7th Century "lin", Flax, with "geard", an enclosure. This spelling, with the double "g", is very rare, and any recordings in this form are no earlier than 19th Century. Ling is also a type of heather, found as a rule growing with furze on high ground, and this surname may have a source here. "Lyngarde" is another variant of this name e.g., Dorythye Lyngarde (widow) recorded in St. Michael, Cornhill, Middlesex, along with "ling-art", e.g., Laurence Lingart of Fullwood, Lancashire Wills at Richmond (1457 - 1748). Amongst the recordings in London is one Elizabeth Linggard who married James Stoney on December 9th 1812 at St. Marylebone. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Lyngard, which was dated 1415, Preston Guild Rolls, Lancashire, during the reign of King Henry V, "The Victor of Agin Court", 1413 - 1422. 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.