Dargie

This rare and interesting name is of medieval Scottish origin and is locational from a place so called in the parish of Liff-Benvie in Angus. The derivation is thought to be from the Scottish Gaelic 'dearg', meaning red, and perhaps referring to the redness of the earth or minerals in the rock, giving it a a red hue. The name is well recorded in Angus, for example, John Dargie in Hill of Fynnevine (1613), Pat Dargie in 1616, at Monikie, and John Dargie in July 1656 at Maine and Strathmartine, but the earliest recording oddly enough is in York (see below), probably due to the fact that people migrating from their native homes would often adopt the placename as a means of identification, and records have a tendency to begin earlier in England than elsewhere. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Isabell Dargie, which was dated December 11th 1582, St. Crux, York, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 1, 'Good Queen Bess', 1558-1603. 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.