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Surnames GGage,is an English and French occupational name for the man who worked as an assayer, checking weights and measures, from Middle English guage meaning measure. Occasionally, it is a nickname for a moneylender or usurer, from Old French gage meaning pledge, surety. English variations are Gauge, Gaiger.
Galloway,is a Scottish place name derived from the location in SW Scotland which got its name from Gaelic gall meaning foreigner + Gaidhel meaning Gaelic. Before the area was a province of Anglian Northumbria the Gaelic residents there were called "the foreign Gaels" and they tended to side with the Norsemen rather than their fellow Gaels when push came to shove. The Irish name Galway is a derivative of Galloway.
Garrison,English Place, Occupational name, derived from Middle English garite meaning watchtower. The garrison were troops stationed at the fort or castle, and the name could also describe one who lived near the garrison's watchtower.
Gibson,is a patronymic form of the Scottish and English name Gibb, which was taken from the pet name Gip, derived from Gilbert. Gipp is a variant. Giblett and Gibling are diminutive forms, and Gibbs, Gibbes, Gipps, Gypps, Gibson, Gibbeson, Gipson , and Gypson are patronymic forms.
Gifford,is generally a variation of Giffard, which primarily was a cognate of Gebhardt , a Germanic given name derived of the elements geb meaning gift + hard meaning brave, hardy. St. Gebhardt was bishop of Constance during the 10th century and contributed to the popularity of the name throught the Middle Ages. Occasionally, Giffard comes as a nickname from Old French giffard meaning chubby-cheeked; and finally, Gifford is sometimes a place name from the place in Suffolk now called Giffords Hall, which was known in Old England as Gyddingford.
Gill,is an English patronymic name from a shortened form of the given names Giles, Julian or William -- modern pronunciation of these names notwithstanding. When of North English origin, it is derived as a place name for the man who live by a ravine or deep glen, from the Middle English term gil meaning used in a transferred sense from the thin-slit gill of a fish. When of Scottish or Irish origin, it is derived from an anglicised version of the Gaelic Mac Gille (the Scottish version) or Mac Giolla (Irish), as an occupational name for the servant, or a shortened form of any of the several names which were attached to the names of saints to mean "devotee of (insert Saint's name here)," or it is derived from Mac An Ghoill , where ghoill was a Highland reference to the English-speaking lowlander.
Gillies,is a Scottish patronymic name from the Gaelic given name Gilla Josa (servant of Jesus). Gillis is a variation. Patronymic forms include Gillison, McAleese, McAleece, McAlish, McLeish, McLees, McLese, McLise.
Gilmore,Irish Occupational Name. In old Ireland, the words gil, kil, maol , and mul designated a follower, devotee, or servant" of someone. Those with the name Gilmore are descended from the "servant of Mary."
Glen,The Surname Glen, Found in both England and Scotland, is of local origin. It is derived from the place where a man once lived or where he once held land. In England, the name is based on the place Glen in Leicestershire. However, the original bearer of the surname may also have been an inhabitant of Glen in Traquair, Peebleshire. In England, this surname is recorded as early as 1230 when one Gregory Glen is listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Suffolk. Adam and William De Glen are both registered in the Subsidy Rolls for Leicestershire (1327). In Scotland, Colban Del Glen received a legacy left him by the Queen in 1328. In the same year King Robert 1 confirmed to Colban and his wife, the land of Quilte in Peebleshire. An annuity was paid to Roger Del Glen the following year and in 1377 John De Glene witnessed a charter of Longneuton. Notable bearers of this surname include John Hershel Glenn (b. 1921) who was the first American to orbit the earth in space and Jean de Glen, a sixteenth century engraver from Liege. Blazon of Arms: Argent three martlets sable. Translation: Argent (white) denotes Peace and Sincerity. The Martlet represents one who subsists on the wings of virtue and merit. Crest: An arm embowed vested sable in the hand proper a heart gules. Translation: The arm is the symbol of an industrious person. Motto: Alta Pete. Translation: Aim at High Things.
Glover,is an English occupational name for the maker or seller of gloves, from Middle English glovere > Old English glof meaning glove.
Godfrey,is an English Patronymic name from the French given name Godefrei, comprised of the Germanic elements god + fred, frid meaning peace. Variations are Godfray, Godfree , and Godfer. French cognatives include Godefroi, Godefroy, Godefrey , and others. German: Govert, Goffer, Goffarth . Flemish meaning Govaard, Godevaard, Govard .
Gordon,is a Scottish place name, from a so-named location in the former county Berwickshire (now part of Borders region) and named for Breton words that preceded Welsh gor meaning spacious + din meaning fort. Occasionally, it is an English place name from Gourdon in Saone-et-Loire, from the Roman given name Gordus, or among the Irish as an anglicised form of the Gaelic Mag Mhuirneachain (son of beloved). When of French origin, it is a nickname for the heavy man, from Old French gort meaning fat. Those of Jewish heritage with the name likely derived it as a place name from the Belorussian city of Grodno. Gourdon, Gurdon are variations of all but the Jewish form. Two variations of the Irish name are McGournaghan, McGournasan . French variants are Gordet, Gordin . Jewish versions include Gordin, Gordonoff, Gordonowitz .
Greave,is a place name that is often derived from the place in Lancashire by that name, and was used to describe the man who moved from that place. Greave is derived from Old English groefe meaning thicket, woodbrush. Greve, Greaves, Greves, Greeves are variations of Greave.
Green,when derived from an Irish context, is a translation of several Gaelic surnames originating from uaithne meaning green, and glas meaning grey, green, blue: O hUaithnigh was the surname that became Hooney, and glas became Glass. When an English surname, it is derived from the color as a Nickname for the man who liked to wear green, who played the "Green Man" in the May Day celebration, or who lived near the village green.
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