Surgood

This very rare and interesting name is of Anglo-Saxon origin, and derives from the Germanic (male) personal name 'Sieghard', which is composed of the elements 'sigi', meaning victory and 'hard', hardy, brave, strong. The surname from this source is unusual in that, although uncommon as a modern surname, it has survived the many changes in names during and after the Norman Conquest of 1066, when a great many Old British and Anglo-Saxon names were modified and absorbed into Norman forms. A few modern English surnames derive from similar Germanic personal names, such as 'Simmond' from 'Siegmund', victory-protection, while variants of 'Sieghard' include Surgood, Sargood, Sig(h)art, Sickert and Sigert. The marriage of Richard Sargood and Ellinor Barker was recorded at St. James's, Duke's Place, London on May 22nd 1687. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of An Surgood (christening), which was dated September 4th 1642, at Shorne, Kent, during the reign of King Charles 1, known as 'The Martyr', 1625-1649. 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.