Hertfordshire Piggs

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Rosemary Taylor on October 6, 2009 at 10:06pm

Debbie - Welcome to Pigg genealogy!

Permalink Reply by charlotte pigg on February 23, 2010 at 3:41pm

Im just doing my teacher training and i will be Miss Pigg to all the pupils' delight! I was just looking for some background info on my name and i came across this site. My family are based in cambridgeshire, I have just read your above post and am wondering if these people are my ancestors! It is quite exciting really. I know little to nothing about my family history but i have relatives near Barkway. Have you found out any more?

Permalink Reply by Rosemary Taylor on February 23, 2010 at 10:26pm

Welcome to Pigg Genealogy Group. Pigg is a very old name. I did student teaching long ago, and not one person made a crack about my name, Ha Ha Ha. I had the grade book. My Pigg immigrated to the United States from England in the 1600's, and I am not researching people in England. I think we would all be interested in knowing more about the history of the Pigg surname, if you would care to share.
Good Luck,
Rosemary

Permalink Reply by Debbie Kennett on February 24, 2010 at 7:46am

Hi Charlotte, How exciting to find a real life Pigg. I've done a lot of research on all the descendants of James Pigg and Mary Kimpton. I seem to recall there was another Pigg line in Cambridgeshire that we've not yet been able to connect with our Hertfordshire Piggs. Can you give me some names and dates of your know Pigg ancestors and I will have a look and see if I can find them in my database. If you can get back to the 1901 census then I might be able to help.

Permalink Reply by charlotte pigg on February 24, 2010 at 2:41pm

Well my grandpa was called Jack Pigg and he married my Grandma who was called Queenie. I never knew her maiden name but i know she hailed from Luton, her family ran a hat factory or something like that. My grandpa died before i was born and i know very little about him. Im guessing their date of births must have been around 1920. My dad (John Pigg) was born in 1945 (i think!) Im endeavoring to get some info off my dad at the moment. My family are still farmers in Cambridgeshire. Sorry this is all a bit vague, i only stumbled across this sight to try to find out where the name Pigg actually originates from so i can dazzle my school kids with what a cool name it is and now i have found all this and it is very exciting. As soon as i find out more i will let you know....

Permalink Reply by Debbie Kennett on March 8, 2010 at 1:03pm

Hi Charlotte, I think you need to find out more from your dad. Does he have any birth or marriage certificates that might help you to take his line back a little further. You might like to have a look at this website which produces maps of surnames from the 1881 census and in 1998:

http://www.nationaltrustnames.org.uk/

This is the entry for the surname Pigg from the Penguin Dictionary of British Surnames by John Titford:

"Pigg. Occupational term for a keeper of pigs or a nickname for a person who resembled a pig in appearance and/or characteristics. A Co. Durham/Northumberland surname."

I would have to disagree with him about the northern origin of the surname. It is clear from the maps that the name has a separate origin in East Anglia.

Debbie

Permalink Reply by Rosemary Taylor on June 20, 2013 at 11:36pm

Hi Debbie.  I am finally trying to find my line of Pigg in England. An older research gives a pedigree for my line that immigrated to America in the 1600's, and I have been trying to prove or disprove this research.  It gives two Pigg marriages to Bullen (Boleyn and other spellings).  I found one marriage of a William Pigg (born abt. 1575) to Ursula Bullen in the Visitations of Norfolk.  I have not found more.  It is likely this Pigg family may have lived around Boston, Lincolnshire, England, at least Pigg were living there at that time.  Unfortunately, it seems like many Pigg might have used the name Page, or another similar surname.  Two of my cousins changed their surname.  Being a Pigg has it's challenges in life.  I was a Pigg until I married.  Some of the Pigg have been transcribed as Pegg on census in USA.

I once did a research on the Pigg surname.  It was in England a very long time ago, spelled Pygge.  There are earlier researchers who say Pigg came from France and Pegg might have been the more proper English translation of the name.  I saw on the web where a person gave some sort of evidence that the surname existed among the Romans. Pigg may have been an occupational name in the beginning for a keeper of pigs.  The Romans introduced pigs to England, and for some time they were a tasty item that was rare.  A keeper of pigs probably had some sort of status in his community. The wild boar (pig) is a ferocious animal that may have appealed to a military man to use as his symbol.  It does appear to be a very old surname, but somewhat unpopular with those born to it.  The name may have arose in more that one place.  I am hoping there are enough Pigg involved in genealogy that we may have DNA testing done to determine our roots.  I have male cousins who might donate a test sample.

In the USA, various branches of my family have named children odd names.  My great grandfather was John A. Pigg.  I have seen Rosy Pigg, Harry Pigg, and so forth.  We Piggs need a sense of humor.  I grew to like the name, and to watch people's faces when I introduced myself.  I could immediately tell which person was a snert, and to beware of in the future.  Now I have a boring surname.  Carrying the surname of Pigg eventually helps a person build self-esteem, or the person changes their name.

Permalink Reply by Rosemary Taylor on March 8, 2015 at 1:37pm

I have Ancestry World, and I have found Pigg families all over England.  For all I know, the name may be in other countries in another language.