The Trajagowe history begins in
Cornwall, a rugged coastal region in southwestern
England. Quite distinct from
Devon, the adjoining county,
Cornwall had its own spoken language until the late 18th century. The Trajagowe history began here. The manner in which
hereditary surnames arose is interesting.
Local surnames were derived from where the original bearer lived, was born, or held land. Unlike most Celtic peoples, who favored
patronymic names, the Cornish predominantly used
local surnames. The Trajagowe family originally lived at
Trejo in the county of Cornwall.
Early Origins of the Trajagowe family
The surname Trajagowe was first found in
Cornwall where they held a
family seat as Lords of the Manor of Crantock. The parish of Crantock bordered on the northern coast on the banks of the Bristol Channel. About the 12th and 13th centuries this ancient
Clan Trejago was of great force in the west country, they having many knights listed in 1323 who held 40 librates of land. In 1306, Sir John de Trejago represented
Cornwall in Parliament, he being one of two `knights of the Shire.' Sir John continued this representation until 1340. He is undoubtedly one and the same as the
High Sheriff of
Cornwall who was at this time a Trejago, John de Trejago, classified amongst all landholders as being a `first class landholder'.
Early History of the Trajagowe family
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Trajagowe research.
Another 147 words (10 lines of text) covering the years 141 and 1417 are included under the topic Early Trajagowe History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Trajagowe Spelling Variations
Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of
spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into
England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly,
spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of
Cornwall and the rest of
England. The Cornish spoke a unique
Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Trejago, Treiago, Trajago, Treajago, Trejaggo, Trejagoe and many more.
Early Notables of the Trajagowe family (pre 1700)
More information is included under the topic Early Trajagowe Notables in all our
PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Migration of the Trajagowe family to the New World and Oceana
Early records show that people bearing the name Trajagowe arrived in North America quite early: Joseph Trejagow who landed in North America in 1700.