Claget History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The origins of the Claget name come from when the Anglo-Saxon tribes ruled over Britain. The name Claget was originally derived from a family having lived in the village of Clegett or Clegett Hall, in the parish of Rochdale, Kent. The surname is derived from the Old Norse word which means a haystack-shaped hill. The surname also has an occupational origin, which means that it is derived form the trade or profession of the original bearer. The name was also given to those who worked as bellringers.

Cleygate, a manor, in the parish of Thames Ditton, Second division of the hundred of Kingston, union of Kingston, in the East division of Surrey may be a point of origin for the family. 1 "It was given to the convent of Westminster by Tosti, probably the son of Earl Godwin, and the grant was confirmed by Edward the Confessor. The Domesday Survey records that "Claigate" was then still held by the monks, and the lands continued in their possession until the Dissolution. " 2

Early Origins of the Claget family

The surname Claget was first found in Kent, at Claygate Cross, a hamlet in the Sevenoaks District. The first record was that ot Roger de la Caligate was was listed here in the Feet of Fines for 1198. Robert Cleygate was listed in 1215 and Glibert ate Claygate was listed in the Assize Rolls for 1317. 3

Alternatively, the name could have been derived from Claygate, a village in Surrey 1 4 that dates back to the Domesday Book of 1086 where it was first listed as Claigate, a manor of the village Thames Ditton. 5 The main manor of the village was held by Westminster Abbey. This is indeed a rare name as most of the records are quite late in the 17th and 18th centuries - little was found earlier.

Early History of the Claget family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Claget research. Another 103 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1198, 1215, 1317, 1610, 1628, 1634, 1636, 1644, 1646, 1654, 1660, 1663, 1671, 1681, 1688, 1716, 1721, 1727, 1746, 1756, 1766, 1776, 1788 and 1791 are included under the topic Early Claget History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Claget Spelling Variations

Before English spelling was standardized a few hundred years ago, spelling variations of names were a common occurrence. Elements of Latin, French and other languages became incorporated into English through the Middle Ages, and name spellings changed even among the literate. The variations of the surname Claget include Clagett, Claggitt, Clegget, Cleggett, Cleygate, Claygate, Clackett, Claigate, Cleget, Claggett, Claggot and many more.

Early Notables of the Claget family

Distinguished members of the family include

Nicholas Clagett the Elder (1610?-1663), English Puritan divine, born at Canterbury about 1610 and in 1628 was entered as a student of Merton College, Oxford, where he proceeded B.A. in October 1681...
William Clagett D.D. (1646-1688), was an English clergyman, known as a controversialist and was the eldest son of Nicholas Clagett the Elder. 6
William Claggott, was Rector of Mundesley, Norfolk in the 18th century; and Nicholas Clagett, an 18th century bishop of Exeter

Migration of the Claget family

A great wave of immigration to the New World was the result of the enormous political and religious disarray that struck England at that time. Families left for the New World in extremely large numbers. The long journey was the end of many immigrants and many more arrived sick and starving. Still, those who made it were rewarded with an opportunity far greater than they had known at home in England. These emigrant families went on to make significant contributions to these emerging colonies in which they settled. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: Thomas Clagett who arrived in Maryland in 1670 and Thomas John Clagett in Maryland in 1767.

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print