This is a locational surname of many variant spellings, which derives from the village of Seagrave in Leicestershire. The village name is first recorded in the 1086 Domesday Book as Satgrave or Setgrave, and later in the 12th Century as Sedgrove and Segrave. The name origin is Olde English pre 7th Century and translates as 'The Fold (set) by the pool or ditch (graef)'. The name development is very varied, scarcely surprising in view of the multi - spellings of the village name. These include John Segrave (1573, of Stoke Newington) Robert Seigrove (1611, Stepney) John Seagrave (1631, St. Giles, Cripplegate) Edward Sygrave (1853, Monk Hadley) Elizabeth Sygrove (1840, St. Pancras Old Church, London). The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas de Segrava, which was dated 1180, the Poll Tax Returns of Leicester, during the reign of King Henry II, The Church Builder, 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.