The History of The Jago's

While Checking for more information on the Jago name and its variants, I came across these names and how they are related to the name Jago.

JACKA, JACCA, JAGO Surname history

JACKA

It is almost certain that this surname is related to the surname Jago and is therefore qualified for insertion here.
It has no relationship with John or Jack. In 1953 the surname appeared as
Jacoin Hayle and as Jacko elsewhere. It is almost entirely a far west and
middle west( of Cornwall) surname-Penzance and westward 24, middle west 18.
There was a concentration of 15 in Newquay. In the Lay subsidy roll 1327 for
St Agnes Parish Jon Jacou (John Jacka) was taxed 6 pence, John Jacou (John
Jacka) of Probus parish was taxed 12 pence. In 1523, LSR, Jokes Jakka (John
Jacka) was one of the wealthiest men in Veryan parish. (Roseland district).
His goods were valued at 20 pounds and his tax was 20 shilling(an early
surtax!). In old Breton the name is Jacu. The surname is sometimes spelt
Jacow and Jackoe in the parish registers. From 1600 to 1812 there were 175
Jacka marriages in 33 parishes-St Burgan 34, Paul Penzance 30, Touro and
district 20, Perranzabuloe 30. There were two Jacka marriages in Ludguan
church in 1567.

Jago This surname is widely spread in about 30 Cornish parishes,
rather heavily weighted in middle west and south east Cornwall. Notable
concentrations-Marazion 22, Falmouth 35, Penryn 22, Bodmin 12, Maker and
Rame parishes(extreme south-east) 20, and Wadebridge 12.



The word occurs in two Cornish place names Treago in Crontock parish /
(Newquay district) spelt Threiagu 1214, 213 marriages in 33 Parishes, 18 of
which there were less than three marriages - St Ives 79 (16?6) Zennor 32
(1640) Towednack 45 (1685) Treuagu 1216, Trejago 1269. Jago's farm or
homestead (2) Trago in St. Pinnock parish(Liskeard district) spelt Treiqu
1277, Trequago 1290, Treagoe 1530. Jago's farm or homestead. Elipmology
-the several element Jago, Jagu is the Latin Jacobus+ James. The name is
Romano-Celtic borrowed by the Cornish during the Roman occupation. See
surname Kent and Julian. In Latin the letters 'i" and 'J' are
interchangeable in certain grammatical conditions. Compare Iago, a
Florentine, in Shakespeare's "Othello". IN Breton the name is Iago or Iacu,
in Welsh-Saint Iago, in Spanish Santiago. There is a place name Santiago in
Spain and in the former Spanish colonies of South America are several places
with that name. Saint Iago or Jago seems to have been a favorite saint with
the Spaniards. This has led to a false belief in Cornwall that the people
called Jago are of Spanish descent. In the 1523 subsidy Rolls, William
Jagowe(William Jago) in partnership with another , had their goods assessed
at 6 pounds, tax 3 shillings in the parish of St. Erme, in the same year, in
the same parish Benedeus Jacowe Bennett Jago) or Jacko) was taxed 12 pence.
In the parish of Gwennap, 1523 Jacobus Jagow (James Jago) was taxed 24.6 d.
on goods worth 5 pounds. The Jago marriage records 1600-1812-258 marriages
in 68 parishes, the most numerous of which were-St.Just in Roseland and
district 38 Bodmin and district 23, Mevaqissey 35, Duloe(love District) 17
and, all in the 18th century in St Hilary parish 14.

Cornish surnames: Jacka and Jago

I have read another article  of the Jago name and a variant Jacka:

It is natural that we become romantic over our ancestry. The stories that
are handed down from father to son in every household would often outshine
in fairy glory anything written by the Grimm brothers or Hans Anderson. A
Mr. Carter who believed he was descended from a Turkish pirate found his
foundations disintegrating when told he was descended from a man who owned a
horse and cart and that the horse might have been a donkey! A tradition has
been maintained that such names as Jago, Jose and Bastian point to Spanish
ancestry. Consider this quotation from Morton Nance: It would not have been
at all possible that a medieval Spaniard should have settled in Cornwall as
a fish curer or merchant, but there is no evidence, I believe, that one ever
did so, and the "romance" of Spanish blood is always made to date from
imaginary Armanda wrecks of 1588 or the brief Spanish incursions into Mounts
Bay in 1595(Old Cornwall, Vol 4 Federations of Old Cornwall Societies. Let
me emphasis, there were no Armada wrecks on the Cornish Coast in 1588 and
the cut and run burning raids in Mounts Bay in 1595 no Spaniard had leisure
enough and time to fall in love with a Cornish girl (the wise ones would
have fled) have the banns called and stand at the alter with his Cornish
bride. The "romance" is an absurdity.

"Whatever" Cornish blood we have in common with Spaniards must go back
beyond these Spanish-sounding names, to the very remote Celtic and Iberian
ancestors shared by us both, which would be enough to account for some
slight similarity to our appearance (Morton Nance ib).


Cathedral of St. Jago de la Vega below
These prehistoric ancestors of ours, whom we now call the Iberians, came
here between 2500 and 2000 B.C. when, what is now Cornwall was practically
lifeless in human terms. They slowly worked their way along the Atlantic
seaboard of Western Europe from southern Spain to Scandinavia, leaving
behind thousands of tombs constructed principally from huge stone slabs. The
Isles of Sicily are crowded with prehistoric graves. There is an enormous
number of round burrows- burial places--45 of which contain large stone
chambers. There are only 15 chambered tombs in the whole of the Cornish
mainland, but 170 have been found in Wales. The origin of these is to be
found in the Mediterranean. Probably in the rock-cut communal burial
chambers of the Aegean.


What did these people look like?

The Harlyn Bay (Padstow) prehistoric
cemetery was found in 1900. Covered with blown sand 12 feet deep. The 130
coffins or cists were formed of slate slabs. The skeletons lay on their
sides with knees drawn up towards the chins. The date of the cemetery was
decided by two brooches similar to those in the cremated burials of Spain
and Portugal. Harlyn Bay provided the only existing skeletons of the
prehistoric Cornish folk. They were rather short in stature, the men
averaging 5ft 1 1/2in. The long head-the oval face-predominated. This type
is more common in modern Wales than in Cornwall. The hair is black and
straight.



The English people therefore tend to think of the Celtic people as being
small and dark but the Celts were admired by their Mediterranean neighbours for their height, their fair skin, muscularity, blue eyes and blonde hair.
The Greeks and Romans thought it a peculiarity of the Celtic barbarians to
prefer trousers. Readers may accept this as being in line with the most
modern scholarship. I have taken it from Hencken Glyn Daniel, Jacquetta
Hawkes and T.G. E. Powell. These prehistoric ancestors of ours had a
language. When the Celts came (the Ancient Britons) about 300 b.c. and the
first impact had given place to comparative stability there was
inter-marriage and a mingling of languages. No research has been done in the
disentangling process, but when derivations are marked "obscure" there is
some suspicion that we are back beyond the Celts. To Gover the names "Fal"
and Cober" are insoluble.



Book of surnames page 193 " First listing "J" Jack,
Jacka, Jacke, Jackes, Jacks, Jagg, Jages, Jakes, Jeeks, Jecks,Jex:



The ODCN, following E. W.B. Nicholson (1892), derives Jack, the commonest
pet-name of John, from Jankin, a diminutive of Jan, Jehan (John). According
to this theory, Jankin became Jackin and was then shortened to Jack, A
process completed by the beginning of the 14th Century. Both Jack and Jake
are certainly found for John towards the end of the 13th century: John or
Jacke le Warner 1275 RH (C); John or Jakke de Bondec 1279 Rh(Bk); Jake or
John de Couentre 1292 SRLo, 1300 LoCt. Jankin was a 14th centry diminutive
of John.v.Jenkin. But it is difficult to believe that the 1195 Jake and the
1218 Jacce can derive from Jankin. In France Jacques (James) was so common
a name that it became the normal term for a peasant, just as, in England,
Jack became a synonym for man or boy. It would be strange if so popular a
French name did not appear in England. Though rare, undoubted examples of
Jacques are found: Jacobus or Jakes, Amadur 1275 RH (L); Jakes or James
Flinthard 1292 SRLo, 1300 LoCt. The diminutives Jackett, Jacklin, Jakins,
correspond to the French Jaquet, Jacuelin, Jacquin, from Jacques. V. also
James, Jakes, Jeeks, Jex, show the same vowel development as James, Jeames and Jem.