Staggs
Likely a pet form or variant of Stagg, a surname often linked to the old personal name St. Agg or to a nickname for a stag.
The #3,724 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 32,452 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Staggs is usually treated as a variant of Stagg. One older explanation connects Stagg to St. Agg or St. Aggs, understood as a shortened form referring to St. Agatha. Another possible line of explanation is nickname-based, from Middle English stag, meaning the male deer, though the historical sources provided emphasize the St. Agg derivation for this spelling.
History
The surname appears in English and American records in forms with and without the final -s, which often marks a patronymic or pluralized family form. In the United States it is uncommon but established, and the spelling Staggs is especially common in English-speaking countries where surnames were often regularized in varied ways over time. Historical dictionaries note it alongside Stagg, suggesting the two forms were closely related in usage.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Nineteenth-century surname lists often grouped Stagg and Staggs with other animal-based names, reflecting how family names were sometimes perceived, even when the real origin was different.
From the historical record
“STABLE, STABLES. Same as Staple, Staples, q. v. STAGG, STAGGS. From St. Agg, St. Aggs, i. e. St. Agatha's. STAIR. From Stair, a parish of Scotland, co. Ayr, which gives title to the Earl of Stair.”
— Ludus Patronymicus; or, the etymology of curious surnames