Jagger Surname Meaning, History & Origin

Jagger has West Yorkshire origins.  The name is occupational and means a pedlar, hawker or carter.  It is derived from jagger, a Yorkshire dialect formation from the Middle English jag meaning “pack” or “hound.”

Jager and Yeager, from the German or Dutch jagen meaning “to hunt,” have different origins.

Jagger Surname Resources on The Internet

• Family Detective – Mick Jagger
  Mick Jagger’s origins.
• Jagger Line  Jaggers from the Halifax area.
• Descendants of Jeremiah and John Jagger
  Jaggers in Connecticut and Long Island.

Jagger Surname Ancestry

• from England (Yorkshire)
• to America

England.  Jagger is a Yorkshire surname.

Yorkshire.  All or most present-day Jaggers probably originated from a single family in the village of Stainland in the west end of Calderdale, some four miles south of the town of Halifax.  The poll tax roll of 1378 showed a John Jagher and his wife living there. 

In 1541, according to taxation records, it would appear that the Jaggers had achieved some status in the Stainland community.  Jagger Green is a place in the village today. The name had also spread by that time to neighboring villages such as Kirkburton and Shelf.

By the time of the 1881 census, 90 percent of all Jaggers were still living in Yorkshire.  There were 50 remaining in Stainland and larger numbers in Shelf and Northowram. Joseph Jagger was working as an engineer at Bottomley’s mill in Shelf in 1875 when he journeyed to Monte Carlo and won two million francs on the roulette tables there.  Jeremiah Jagger was born in Northowram in 1758 and lived at the Ashtree Farm there.  His son Thomas was a stone dealer.

One Yorkshire family history begins with the birth of Mary Jagger probably at Southowram around 1760.  Son John was a weaver in Southowram and grandson James worked in the West Yorkshire and Durham coal mines. Fred Jagger migrated with his family to Canada in 1920.

Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, was born in Kent, but has Yorkshire roots.  His great great great grandfather Thomas Jagger was married in Batley in 1804.

London.  Jaggers were to be found in London from Tudor times.  Three generations of Jaggers were surgeons, culminating in Thomas Jagger being appointed surgeon of the Navy ship Warspite in 1666.  Henry Jagger, born in Marylebone in 1805, was the first of four generations of master coopers.

America.  There were early Jaggers in America.  Family tradition has it that two seafaring brothers arrived in the 1640’s, one settling in Connecticut (Stamford) and the other on Long Island (Southampton).  Their name could also have been Gager and some think they might have been of Dutch origin. 

A number of Jaggers later settled in Ohio and Indiana.  Dean Jagger, the versatile Hollywood actor, was born into a family farm in Columbus Grove, Ohio in 1903.

Mick Jagger’s Family Ancestry

Mick Jagger, the lead singer of the Rolling Stones, was born in Dartford, Kent, but has Yorkshire origins.

Just click below if you want to read more about his history:

•   Mick Jagger’s Family History

Jagger Names

• Joseph Jagger has been credited with being “the man who broke the bank at Monte Carlo” because of his winning streak at the roulette tables there in 1875.
• Mick Jagger has been for over fifty years the lead singer of the Rolling Stones megagroup.

Jagger Numbers Today

• 3,000 in the UK (most numerous in Yorkshire)
• 500 in America (most numerous in California)
• 500 elsewhere (most numerous in Canada)

Jagger and Like Surnames

Many surnames have come from Yorkshire.  These are some of the noteworthy surnames that you can check out.