Forgie - Name

This is a Scottish locational name which derives from the village of Forgie, near Montrose in Scotland. There is also some evidence that the name may occasionally be a dialectal variant of Fergus, through Fergie, as it is known that some "Forgieson's" are dialectal variants of Ferguson. Whatever the origin, the name is rare, although the epicentre would seem to be the Ayrshire county, where recordings date back to the early 18th Century. The translation of the name is probably "the son of Forge" with "Forge" being a form of nickname surname for the local "smith", the village taking its name accordingly. The examples of the name recording include the following: David Forgie, who was christened on November 20th 1743 at Old Cumnock Church, Ayr, whilst on February 26th 1747, Gilbert Forgie married Agnes Good, at Ballantrae. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of John Forgie, which was dated December 3rd 1724, a witness at Kirkoswald Church, Ayr, during the reign of King George 1, known as "Hanover George", 1714 - 1727. 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.