Freegard

This is an interesting and rare name, thought to be German in origin, and introduced as a surname into England in the early 18th Century. It is probably an Anglicized form of the German "Friedgar", a rare surname from a Germanic personal name comprised of the elements "frid", or "fred", peace, with "gar", spear. The earliest recorded spelling is "Frigard", and another variant is "Freeguard". Wiltshire seems to be the home of this surname in England, and many of the recordings in that county are specifically from the village of Bremhill, although there are a few in London, for example: Betty Freegard married William Mudge on December 10th 1752, at St. George's, Mayfair, Westminster, and Martha Freegard, daughter of Francis and Susan Freegard, was christened on September 15th 1754, at Bremhill. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Frances Frigard, which was dated December 24th 1721, christened at Bremhill, Wiltshire, during the reign of King George 1, known as "The First Hanovarian", 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.