This surname is of medieval English origin and is a metonymic occupational name for a maker or seller of wooden pegs, or perhaps in some cases a nickname surname for a person with a wooden leg or who walked with a limping gait. The derivation is from the Middle English "pegge", meaning a peg. However, Peg is a short pet form of the female given name Margaret, so it may be that a source of this surname Pegg is a metronymic (from the mother) of this personal name. A coat of arms was granted to the Pegg family of Beauchief Abbey, Derby, circa 1836 - silver, with a chevron between three black wedges. Recorded in London is the christening of Richard Pegg on May 31st 1607 at St. Bride, Fleet Street, and the marriage of John Pegg and Elizabeth Davis on November 3rd 1611 at St. Andrew-by-the-Wardrobe. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Aeluric Pegga, which was dated 1165, in the "Pipe Rolls of Warwickshire", during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. 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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