Stagg
Usually a nickname from the stag, or sometimes a voiced spelling of Stack.
The #9,783 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 93,220 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The name is generally explained as a nickname from the stag, the male deer, with Old English forms such as stagga and related Old Norse words behind it. In that sense it may have been given to someone thought fleet, powerful, or stag-like in some other characteristic way. Some sources also allow a second explanation: Stagg may in some cases be a voiced form of Stack.
History
English surname writers place Stagg especially in the southwest of England, including Somerset and Devon. It appears in older lists of animal-based nicknames alongside Hart, Buck, Roe, and Deer. A few authors also note related forms such as Stagman, interpreted as a deer-keeper, and regional variants like Staig in Scotland.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Some old surname books even mention Stagg in a cluster of names built from deer and other animal terms, showing how common animal nicknames were in English naming.
From the historical record
“Somerset, Devon, etc. STAGG (A.-Scand.) i a nickname and sign- name from the Stag [M.E. stagge. Late O.E. stagga, a stag ; O.N. stegg-r, steggi, male bird, animal] Dialectally, 'stag' was applied in Eng- land to other male animals (and birds) besides the hart. 2 a voiced form of Stack, q.v. Cp. 'Stag Rock,' off…”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)