Tague
An Irish surname that is usually a shortened form of Mac Teague, ultimately tied to the Gaelic personal name Teige/Teague.
The #9,399 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 89,259 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Tague is commonly explained as a shortened or Anglicized form of Mac Teague, with the Gaelic personal name Teige, Teague, or Tadhg behind it. In this tradition, the name began as a patronymic, meaning “son of Teague” or “descendant of Teague.” Older sources often list Tague alongside spellings such as Teague, Teigue, Tighe, and MacTigue.
History
The name is especially associated with Ireland and Irish diaspora communities, where many related forms developed through Anglicization and spelling variation. Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century surname scholars routinely treated Tague as one of the reduced forms of Mac Teague rather than as a separate root name. In modern records it often appears in the United States as an independent surname, detached from the original Mac- form.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname collections often list Tague in the same cluster as Mon-Tague/ Montague-type spellings, showing how easily Irish and non-Irish forms were confused in older indexes.
From the historical record
“TAGUE (Celt.) a contr. of Mac Tague, q.v. TAILER, V. Taylor. TAILYOUR, a Scot, form of Taylor, q.v. Tailyouris [var. Telyouris\ and Sowtaris, blist be ye ! — Dunbar, Telyouris and SenvtariS' . . . litstaris, wobstaris, tailyeouris. — Burgh Seeds. Aberdeen, A.D. 1505.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)