Moger - Name

This interesting and unusual name is of medieval French/German origin and is derived from the Old French "Maugier", the Old German "Malger", meaning council-spear. Moger and the variant spellings, Mauger, Mager, Mayger and Major, was probably introduced into England with the Norman Conquest of 1066 but is also found in the 17th Century at Moge in Flanders. The name did not appear as a surname until the mid 13th Century (see below), but was used as a personal name, for example, Hugo Filias (son) Malgeri 1086 Domesday Book. Recordings of the surname from the London church registers include; William Moger, who married Agnes Junckyns on June 27th 1553, at St. Margaret's, Westminster; Roger Moger was christened on July 20th 1555, at the same place; the marriage of Thomas Moger and Frances Read took place on September 23rd 1599, at St. Mary Magdalene's, Bermondsey; and Alice, daughter of William and Ann Moger, was christened on November 24th 1622, at St. Mary Magdalene, Bermondsey. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Mauger, which was dated 1250, The Fees of Somerset, during the reign of King Henry 111, "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. 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.