Birth Name: Nigel Paul Farage
Place of Birth: Downe, Kent, England, U.K.
Date of Birth: April 3, 1964
Ethnicity: English, 1/8th German, possibly distant Irish and French Huguenot
Nigel Farage is a British politician and former commodity broker. He is the leader of the U.K. Independence Party (UKIP), a eurosceptic and right-wing populist party in Britain. He has been Leader since 2010, and previously from 2006 to 2009.
Nigel is the son of Barbara (Stevens) and Guy Justus Oscar Farage.
Nigel’s paternal grandparents were Harry Farage (the son of Daniel Savory Farage and Lucy Susannah Moynihan) and Gladys Victoria Schrod (the daughter of Carl/Charles Justus Schrod and Ellen Louisa Abbott). Lucy’s surname, “Moynihan”, is of Irish origin, and is an anglicised version of the name “O’Muimhneachain”, so it is likely that she had Irish ancestry. Nigel’s great-grandfather Carl was born in London, to German immigrants, Nicholas Schrod and Bena.
Tabloid The Daily Mail has written that Nigel is a descendant of Georgius Ferauge, a French Huguenot who fled religious persecution in France. Georgius was born in Fumay, France, in 1681, and moved to Swallowfield, Berkshire, in the early 1700s. His name was anglicised to George Ferridge, and “Ferridge” later became “Farage”.
There are records of a George Farridge in Swallowfield, Berkshire at the right time, and he is an ancestor of Nigel. However, it is not clear if he was an immigrant from France or not. There were many people with the surname “Ferauge” living in Fumay, but no Georgius Ferauge. There are records of a Bernard Georges Ferauge, who was born, c. 1681, in Fumay. This matches the statement made by The Daily Mail, but it is unclear whether Bernard was an immigrant to Britain or not. Nigel himself has mentioned his Huguenot ancestry.
Sources: Genealogy of Nigel Farage (focusing on his father’s side) – http://www.geni.com
Nigel’s ancestor, George Farridge – https://familysearch.org
Discussion about Nigel’s French Huguenot ancestry – http://www.familytreeforum.com
Nigel’s German ancestry – http://www.express.co.uk
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