Chichgar

Recorded we believe as Chichgar and occasionally Chichgarh, this is a locational family surname. It originates from Chichgarh, a small town in central India in the Nawegaon National Park, district of Bhandra, state of Maharastra, - and geographically 20 degrees 53 minutes North, and 80 degrees 23 minutes East. Internationally locational surnames were amongst the earliest created, and seem to be first recorded from 1066 when the Normans of France invaded Anglo-Saxon England. In the following fifty years these invaders took over the country and were often given as their distinguishing names, the name of their conquered castles and estates. In medieval times vicious plagues decimated whole countries, and people became more mobile, as they sought work. One of the easiest way to distinguish a stranger was to call them by the name of the place from where they came. Given that over the centuries reading and writing was reserved for less than one percent of the population, that local dialects were very robust, and there were literally hundreds - if not thousands - of individual languages, the spelling of 'surnames' where they existed was something of a lottery. We believe that Chichgarh, the name probably means the place of (wild) birds, was first recorded in India in 1868, but it is unclear when the surname, now found in various countries including India, Pakistan, Singapore, and the USA, was first recorded. Even in the 21st century It is rare, is often Muslim, sometimes Hindu or Sikh, and judging by recorded forenames, occasionally Christian.