Sigsworth

Recorded in the spelling of Sigsworth, and occasionally Siggesworth and Segsworth, this is an English and specifically Yorkshire, locational surname. It originates from a place called Sigsworth Moor, three miles north west of the market town of Pateley Bridge, in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire. It may be that at sometime in the past Sigsworth Moor was a hamlet, and possibly one concerned with either quarrying or mining, as from Roman times, through a long period in medieval times when it was part of the estate of Fountains Abbey, until the begining of the 20th century, activities of this sort were the mainstay of the area. The name is a compund made up of the first name prefix 'Sigga', a popular given name of the pre 7th century Olde English and meaning 'spear', plus 'worp', a forest. Locational surnames are 'from' names. This is to say that they were given to people after they left their original home for whatever reason, and moved 'elsewhere'. This may have been the next village or as far as London, nethertheless the easiest means of indentifying a 'stranger' was to call him or sometimes her, by the name of the place from whence they came. In this case the name is scattered in small numbers throughout the Yorkshire area. Early examples of the recording taken from surviving church registers include Bryant Sigsworth of Ripon, a witness there on January 3rd 1590, Alice Sigsworth, christened at the church of St. Crux, York, on September 30th 1594, and Thomas Siggesworth, of Hutton Rudby, on January 6th 1757.