Recorded as the rare Hegg and Hegge, although these seem to be English, the diminutive Heggie and the patronymic Heggieson and Heggison, the latter three being apparently Scottish, this is a confusing surname. When English it is a derivative of the pre 7th century word "hegge" meaning a hedge or defensive wall of thorn trees erected round a village to keep cattle in and bandits out! However in Scotland and Northern England as Heggie and Heggison it is claimed to be a shortened form of the name Mackeggie or Mackaggie. These it is claimed originate from the Gaelic M' Adhamh or M' Edhamh, meaning 'son of Adam'. Well this is possible on the basis that anything is possible with a surname! It seems that the first recording in any form was during the reign of Alexander IInd of Scotland (1214 - 1249), when one Gillemur Mac Egn was a witness to a covenant between the Abbey of Scone and Adam, the son of Odo, a local landowner. The development recordings include James Heagie, a merchant burgess of Stirling in 1617, whilst Jane Heggison married Thomas Reilly at Glasgow, on May 21st 1861. The first recorded spelling of the family name may be that of Donald Hegy. This was dated 1546, in the register of the Privy Seal of Scotland, during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, 1542 - 1587. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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