Pledger History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

Etymology of Pledger

What does the name Pledger mean?

The Pledger surname comes from the Middle English word "pleggere," meaning "one who pledges in a lawsuit." 1 2

Early Origins of the Pledger family

The surname Pledger was first found in Glastonbury, Somerset where Richard Plegger was registered as holding lands in 1309. William Plegge was listed in the Feet of Fines for Surrey 1435-1436 and John Pleger was recorded in 1525. Elias Pledger was found in Essex in 1662 and Robert Pledge was listed in Surrey in 1569. 1

One source claims "the Pledgers may, perhaps, derive their name from Pledgen, an Essex hamlet." 3

Early History of the Pledger family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Pledger research. Another 120 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1510, 1599 and 1600 are included under the topic Early Pledger History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Pledger Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Pledger, Pledgard, Pledgar, Pledgred, Pleger and others.

Early Notables of the Pledger family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was

the Pledger family of Cambridgeshire...
Of this family was Sir Thomas Pledger of Ashdon Essex (d. 1599), whose memorial is in Bottisham Church, Cambridgeshire...

Pledger Ranking

In the United States, the name Pledger is the 12,160^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4

Pledger migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Pledger Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

John Pledger, who settled in Delaware in 1674
Joseph Pledger, who settled in New Jersey in 1675
Elizabeth Pledger, who landed in New Jersey in 1675 5
John Pledger, who arrived in New Jersey in 1675 5

Pledger migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Pledger Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. Thomas Pledger, (b. 1796), aged 44, British Shepherd who was convicted in Hertfordshire, England for 10 years for stealing sheep, transported aboard the "Asia" on 25th April 1840, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land), he died in 1873 6

Contemporary Notables of the name Pledger (post 1700) +

Warren Jackson Pledger, American molecular biologist, Associate Director for Basic Sciences, Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute and Professor, Department of Molecular Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine
William "Bill" Pledger (1852-1904), American lawyer, newspaper publisher, and politician in Georgia, credited as the first African American lawyer in Atlanta
Adrian Pledger (b. 1976), American basketball player
Shirley Pledger, New Zealand mathematician and statistician known for her work on mark and recapture methods
Orpheus Pledger (b. 1993), Australian actor who played Tycho Everson in the children's series Silversun
Air Chief Marshal Sir Malcolm David Pledger KCB, OBE, AFC (b. 1948), retired Royal Air Force officer, Chief of Defence Logistics from 2002 to 2005
David Pledger, Australian artist who has won several awards, including the Victorian Arts Centre's 1999 Kenneth Myer Medallion for the Performing Arts
Alex John Pledger (b. 1987), New Zealand basketball player from Blenheim, New Zealand

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
Guppy, Henry Brougham, Homes of Family Names in Great Britain. 1890. Print.
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 17th January 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/asia/1840