Inge

This unusual suname is medieval English, but of Norse-Viking pre 7th century origins. It has two possible origins. The first is from the personal name Ing or Inga, itself often an element in both compound names such as Ingall, Ingle, Ingold and in the place names of Ingleby, Ingoldsby and over fifty others. Ing was originally the name of a Norse god associated with fertility, athough the word is believed to be Germanic, and to have the possible meaning of "swelling". It was probably introduced into the British Isles in the 7th century although the first known recording in England is in the famous Domesday Book for the county of Essex in 1066 - 1086. The second possible origin according to the famous Victorian etymologist Canon Chrales Bardsley was residential from living by an "ing". According to him this was a water meadow which flooded in winter, which seems an unlikely place to live, so we have some doubts Early recordings include Roger Inge of Northumberland in 1308, and Robert Ing or Inge who was the rector of Salthouse in Norfolk in 1327. The modern spelling of the surnames include Ing, Inge, Ings and Indge. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Inge (who first used the name as a surname), which was dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire", during the reign of 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 the Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.