Taggart
An Irish and Scottish surname usually understood as a reduced form of Gaelic Mac an tSagairt, meaning “son of the priest.”
The #3,622 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 31,479 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Most modern scholarship connects Taggart with Gaelic Mac an tSagairt, literally “son of the priest.” The core word sagart means “priest,” and in some forms the initial consonant is softened or altered by Gaelic grammar, which helps explain spellings like Taggart, Teggart, and Taggart-style variants. Older writers sometimes proposed other explanations, but the Gaelic priest-name derivation is the standard one.
History
The name is especially associated with Ulster and the west of Scotland, where Gaelic surnames were often anglicized in shortened or altered forms. English-language records show many spellings, including MacTaggart, Teggart, Tagert, and Taggert. The surname also spread widely through migration to North America.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some 19th-century surname writers tried to connect Taggart with unrelated words or even with sheep-names, but the Gaelic priest derivation became the lasting explanation.
From the historical record
“TAGERT TAGGART TAGG (Scand.) a nickname from the animal [Dial. E. tag, a yearling sheep: cp. Swed. tacka,, a ewe] "Tag, Tagge, a sheep of the first year". — Cp. Tegg. ^"^*' ^^"*' ^"''■”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)