Doggett
A surname with uncertain origins, often linked to an old London place-name or to an older personal name.
The #7,799 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 72,732 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Doggett has been explained in more than one way, and the evidence is not decisive. One long-standing theory connects it with Dowgate, an old gateway area in London, making it a locational surname. Another suggests a diminutive or pet form related to a personal name, though 19th-century writers disagreed about the exact root and some proposals are now regarded as doubtful.
History
The name is recorded as an old London surname and appears in historical surname lists in several spellings, including Dogget and Doggett. It also turns up in English and American records, showing normal surname spread rather than a single tightly local history. Because early authorities disagreed, its exact origin remains uncertain.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname writers could not agree whether Doggett came from a London place-name or from a personal-name nickname, so it has remained a small etymological puzzle.
From the historical record
“cred thing. In H.R. there is a John le Doe. DOGGETT. An old London name, probably corrupted from Dowgate, one of the Roman gateways of the city. Ferguson makes it a diminutive of the Icelandic r/w/^r, aud the English docj, but no such duuinu- tive is found. DOHERTY or ODOIIERTY. " The surname is derived from…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom