Recorded in a wide variety of spellings as shown below, this is an English surname although it probably originated as a Viking personal name. Id so it is derived from Thurgod, meaning the ancient god of thunder, although in the 12th century there was some fusing with the Middle English baptismal name "Thurogh" meaning "completely good". Well there you are, you cannot do any better than that! The surname is slightly later and early recordings taken from surviving charters includes that of William Togod, in the Hundred Rolls of landowners of the county of Somerset in 1327. The spellings in the modern idiom are believed to include Thurgood, Thoroughgood, Throwgood, Toogood, Towgood, Thorogood, Thorouggood, Thurgood, Thurgate and possibly others. Later examples of church recordings include Bridget Thorogood, christened at Christchurch, Greyfriars, in the city of London, on May 15th 1576, and Alice Thorogood, christened at St. Peter's Cornhill, also city of London on November 28th 1596. Adam Thorogood, aged 18 yrs., was recorded in a "Muster of the Inhabitants of Virginia" in 1621, having gone to the colony in New England in the ship, "Charles". The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alicia Thurgod. This was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Bedfordshire", 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 sometimes 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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