Magor

This uncommon and ancient name is of Old Welsh and Cornish origin, and may be either a locational or a topographical surname, in both cases from the same derivation, the Old Welsh "macyrou", Old Breton "macoer", and Cornish "magor", modern Welsh "magwyr", all ultimately from the Latin "maceria", wall, ruin. There are places named with this element in both Cornwall and South Wales; these are Maker and Magor in Camborne, Cornwall, and Magor near Newport in South East Gwent, formerly Monmouthshire. The places in Cornwall are thought to be so called with reference to Roman ruins; the discovery of a tessellated pavement at Magor in 1924 suggests there may have been a Roman villa there. Examples of the surname from various Church Registers include: the marriage of John Mager and Orynge Cosby on January 21st 1569, in Totnes, Devonshire; the christening of Richard, son of Henry Magor, in Redruth, Cornwall, on March 22nd 1643; and the marriage of William Magor and Hannah Cooke, at Bisley, Gloucestershire, on April 7th 1681. A Coat of Arms granted to a family of the name depicts, on a red shield, an anchor, proper, and on a silver chief three red roses. The Crest is a greyhound's head erased and collared. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Jane Maiger, which was dated March 6th 1553, christened at Clyst Hydon, Devonshire, during the reign of King Edward V1, known as "The Boy King", 1547 - 1553. 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.