Dangerfield

This interesting surname, now found chiefly in the West Midlands, is a locational name from any of the places in Normandy called Angerville (with the fused preposition de), deriving from the Old Norse personal name "Asgeirr", from, "as" meaning "god", and "geirr", spear, plus the Old French "ville" meaning "settlement" or "village". The name was introduced into England by followers of William the Conqueror after the Norman Invasion of 1066. The surname dates back to the mid 12th Century (see below), and other early recordings include, William de Angeruill, in the 1205 Pipe Rolls of Dorset. Recordings from London Church Registers include: the christening of Samuel, son of Richard Dangerfield, on March 8th 1611, at St. Mary Abchurch, the christening of Richard Dangerfield on November 3rd 1616, at St. Thomas the Apostle; and the christening of Sybil, daughter of Robert Dangerfield, on April 6th 1625, at St. Martin Orgar and St. Clement Eastcheap. One Walcup Dangerfield, an emigrant to the New World, sailed from London aboard the "Bachelor" bound for Bristol in May 1679. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William de Angeruill', which was dated 1205, in the "Pipe Rolls of Dorset", during the reign of King John, known as "Lackland", 1199 - 1216. 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.