This is a name of both Anglo-Saxon and Viking (Norse) origins. It derives from "halh or halla" meaning "a council meeting place or great hall", and "Gard or Garthe" - an enclosure, or garden. This would imply a person resident or perhaps employed at the hall. The suffix as "Gath" is a Northern variant spelling of some rarity, the surname being almost always recorded through the centuries as Halagrth, Holgarth or Hallgate, the original meaning of "Gate" being the same as Garth, i.e. - a fenced area. The first recording of Hallgath would seem to be from Lancashire, George Hallgath marrying Catherine Bradley at St. Nicholas' Church, Liverpool on January 9th 1862. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Hallgarth, which was dated July 11th 1746, at the christened in Hunmanby, Yorkshire, during the reign of King George 11, known as "The Last Warrior King ", 1727 - 1760. 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.