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The name Saige was brought to Britain by the early Norman settlers that followed the 1066 Conquest of the island. The name is derived from the Old French word "sage," meaning "wise;" thus it is supposed that it was originally a nickname for a wise or learned person.
One of the oldest records of the family in Normandy was "Richard Sapiens or le Sage" who was listed there in 1198. Another source notes that Joen le Sage was also there(1180-1195.) All were listed in the Magni Rotuli Scaccarii Normanniae. 1
Another source notes that the name "probably a translation of Le Sage, still a very common French surname. It has reference to the wisdom and prudence of the original bearer." 2 "This surname is derived from a nickname. 'the sage,' the wise, the sagacious." 3
The surname Saige was first found in various counties throughout ancient Britain. One of the first listings in England was Bernard le Sage in Norfolk, temp. Richard I (reign 1189-1199.) Later, the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273 lists: Richard le Sage in Oxfordshire. 3 4 The Close Rolls listed William le Sage temp. 1 Edward I (during the first year's reign of Edward I.)
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Saige research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1066, 1536, 1651, 1652 and 1711 are included under the topic Early Saige History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
It is only in the last few hundred years that the English language has been standardized. For that reason, Anglo-Norman surnames like Saige are characterized by many spelling variations. Scribes and monks in the Middle Ages spelled names they sounded, so it is common to find several variations that refer to a single person. As the English language changed and incorporated elements of other European languages such as Norman French and Latin, even literate people regularly changed the spelling of their names. The variations of the name Saige include Sage, Sayge and others.
Outstanding amongst the family at this time was John Sage (1652-1711), a Scottish nonjuring bishop and controversialist in the Jacobite interest. He was born in 1652 at Creich, Fifeshire, where...
Another 29 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Saige Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Another 37 words (3 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Faced with the chaos present in England at that time, many English families looked towards the open frontiers of the New World with its opportunities to escape oppression and starvation. People migrated to North America, as well as Australia and Ireland in droves, paying exorbitant rates for passages in cramped, unsafe ships. Many of the settlers did not make the long passage alive, but those who did see the shores of North America were welcomed with great opportunity. Many of the families that came from England went on to make essential contributions to the emerging nations of Canada and the United States. Some of the first immigrants to cross the Atlantic and come to North America carried the name Saige, or a variant listed above: Jan Sage who settled in Virginia in 1621, a year after the "Mayflower" with his wife and six children; William and Hester Sage settled in Barbados in 1663.