This unusual and interesting name is of early medieval origin, and is peculiarly a Yorkshire creation. The name is occupational and means a pedlar, hawker, carrier or carter, derived from "jagger" the Yorkshire dialect formation from the Middle English word "Jag" meaning "pack" or "load". A great many modern bearers of the name are probably members of a single family which originally came from a place called Staniland, in the parish of Halifax, Yorkshire. The name development has included John Jagher (1379, Yorkshire) and Katerina Jeggar (1480, ibid). The marriage of Anthony Callis and Susan Jagger was recorded at St. James's Clerkenwell, London in 1625. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas Jager, which was dated 1379, in the "Yorkshire Poll Tax Returns", during the reign of King Richard 11, known as "Richard of Bordeaux", 1377 - 1399. 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.

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