Scroggie

This long-established surname is of early medieval Scottish origin, and is a locational name from the village of Scroggie in Perthshire, of uncertain etymology, but believed to have as a second element the Olde English pre 7th Century "ea, ey", river, corresponding to the Old Scandinavian "a". The first element is most likely the Olde English "scraga", trestle, or bridge constructed of such frameworks; hence, scraga-ea". Locational surnames, such as this, were originally given to local landowners, and the lord of the manor, and especially as a means of identification to those who left their birthplace to settle elsewhere. Early examples of the surname include: David Scroghe, who was one of an inquest held in the Canongate of Edinburgh in 1561, and Alexander Scrogye, a minister in Auld Aberdeen in 1533. "Letters of horning", i.e., letters directed to a messenger-at-arms to enforce payment by a debtor, were sent to one Mr. John Schrogie in 1597, and on October 27th 1607, Archibald Scroggie and Janet Anderson were married at Edinburgh, Midlothian. The birth of Eupham, daughter of John and Catherine Scroggie, was registered at Edinburgh in 1640. A Coat of Arms granted to the family is a silver shield with a red chevron between two azure mullets in chief and a crescent in base. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of William Scrogy, curate, which was dated 1464, in the "Episcopal Register of Aberdeen", during the reign of King James 111 of Scotland, 1460 - 1488. 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.