Taggart Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Taggart Family History

Taggart Family History

The ancient origin of the name Taggart was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Taggart include McEtegart, McTaggart, Ateggart, McTeggart and Teggarty. This sept originated from Ballymactaggart in the barony of Lurg, County Fermanagh.

A sept or clan is a collective term describing a group of persons whose immediate ancestors bore a common surname and inhabited the same territory. It is also the case that many Irish septs or clans that are related often belong to a larger groups, sometimes called tribes. For example the 'Tribes of Galway' consisted of fourteen distinct families. The 'Tribes of Kilkenny' were ten families, etc.

The name in Irish is Mac an tSagairt and is derived from the Latin 'sacerdos', meaning 'priest'. The name appears frequently in the sixteenth and seventeenth century records in Counties Antrim, Derry, Fermanagh, Donegal and Armagh as well as Louth. A number of rectors and erenaghs were recorded in the Derry diocesan visitation in the year 1606, one of whom was William MacTeggart, Dean of Derry. At the same time two Armagh jurors of the name are mentioned.The Taggart family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Taggart descendants.