The name Taggart popped up for the first time in the U.S. baby name data in the mid-1960s:
- 1966: unlisted
- 1965: unlisted
- 1964: 5 baby boys named Taggart [debut]
- 1963: unlisted
- 1962: unlisted
Why?
I’d say it was the movie Taggart, which was a Western released in late 1964.
The main character, Kent Taggart, spent much of the film being pursued by a ruthless killer through Apache country (in Arizona). He was played by actor Tony Young, who had played Cord in Gunslinger several years earlier.
The movie Taggart was based on the 1959 book of the same name by Louis L’Amour. (The TV show Hondo was also based on L’Amour’s writing.)
The Celtic surname Taggart can be traced back to a Gaelic phrase meaning “son of the priest.” (The word for “priest” was sagart.)
What are your thoughts on the name Taggart?
Sources:
- Hanks, Patrick. (Ed.) Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
- Taggart (1964) – TCM.com