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Fagg History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Fagg History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The Fagg surname is thought to come from Middle English word "fagge," in turn from the Old English "facg," which referred to a type of flat fish, and perhaps also a flat loaf; thus it has been suggested that the name may have been occupational name for a fish seller or a baker. 1

Early Origins of the Fagg family

The surname Fagg was first found in Kent where "this Kentish family were long connected with the parish of Rye, co. Sussex, and perhaps derived their name from lands there, still called Fagg farm. Feg occurs in Domesday [Book]." 2

The Feet of Fines for Kent listed Daniel and William Fagg as holding estates there in 1202. 1 The Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 listed Jananna Fag, Somerset and Peter Fag, Oxfordshire. 3

Early History of the Fagg family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Fagg research. Another 163 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1286, 1627, 1645, 1649, 1653, 1673, 1679, 1681, 1690, 1695, 1701, 1702, 1708, 1710, 1715 and 1736 are included under the topic Early Fagg History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Fagg Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Fagg family name include Fagg, Fag, Fagge, Vagg, Vag, Vagge and others.

Early Notables of the Fagg family

Distinguished members of the family include

Sir John Fagg, 1st Baronet (1627-1701), an English politician, Member of Parliament for Rye (1645 to 1653), he purchased the manor of Wiston, West Sussex in 1649. He was the son of John Fagg of Rye, S...

Fagg migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Fagg surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Fagg Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Francis Fagg, who settled in Philadelphia in 1816
Richard C Fagg, who landed in New York in 1844 4

Fagg Settlers in United States in the 20th Century

John Ernest Fagg, aged 22, who landed in America from Dover, in 1904
Lillie Fagg, aged 23, who settled in America from Faversham, England, in 1909
John G. Fagg, aged 39, who immigrated to the United States, in 1910
Mrs. C.A. Fagg, aged 27, who immigrated to the United States, in 1911
C.A. Fagg, aged 31, who settled in America, in 1911
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Fagg migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Fagg Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Michael and Kenedy Fagg, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750
Kenedy Fagg, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1750
Machel Fagg, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1750

Fagg migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Fagg Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Henry Fagg, British convict who was convicted in Kent, England for life, transported aboard the "Asia" on 19th November 1827, settling in New South Wales, Australia 5
Mr. William Fagg, (Fogg), (b. 1808), aged 26, English farm servant who was convicted in Dover, Kent, England for 7 years for stealing, transported aboard the "Bengal Merchant" on 27th September 1834, arriving in New South Wales, Australia, he died in 1878 6
Edward Fagg, English convict from Maidstone, Kent, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on April 16, 1855, settling in Western Australia 7
William Fagg, English convict from Maidstone, Kent, who was transported aboard the "Adelaide" on April 16, 1855, settling in Western Australia 7

Fagg migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Fagg Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

John Fagg, aged 16, a farm labourer, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Tongariro" in 1888

Fagg migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 8

Fagg Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century

Mary Fagg, who settled in Barbados or Jamaica in 1697

Contemporary Notables of the name Fagg (post 1700) +

Fred Dow Fagg Jr., American academic, President of the University of Southern California between 1947 and 1957, father of Fred Dow Fagg III
George Gardner Fagg (1934-2015), American jurist, United States federal Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (1982-1999)
Fred Dow Fagg III (1934-2002), American academic, Dean of the Northwestern School of Law at Lewis & Clark in Portland, Oregon from 1973-1982
Heriwentha Fagg (1932-2000), American athlete
T. J. Fagg, American politician, Representative from Missouri 13th District, 1878 9
Martin D. Fagg (1870-1948), American politician, Mayor of Lewisville, Texas, 1925-29 9
John A. Fagg, American politician, Member of North Carolina House of Commons from Madison County, 1858-61 9
Jimmy Fagg (b. 1929), English stand-up comedian, musician and actor
Arthur Edward Fagg (1915-1977), English cricketer who played for Kent and England
William Buller Fagg (1914-1992), British Keeper of the Department of Anthropology at the British Museum (1969-1974)
... (Another 1 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 8th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1827
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 7th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/bengal-merchant
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2014, November 17) Adelaide voyage to Western Australia, Australia in 1855 with 261 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/adelaide/1855
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, March 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html