HAGGARD Family History

Recorded as Hagard, Haggard, Hagart, Haggarth and possibly others, this is an English medieval surname. It has three possible origins. The first is job descriptive for a haggart or haggerter, described as being a trainer of hawks caught in the wild, whilst the second possible origin is Danish-Viking and from Agard. This was a locational name from the city of Agard in Denmark. It is also possible that on occasions it was used as a medieval nickname for a "wild and untamed" person! In this case the derivation is from the Olde French word hagard, introduced into the British Isles after the Norman Conquest of 1066, after which and for nearly three hundred years French was the written and often spoken, language.