Show ContentsGliddon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Gliddon is a name of ancient Anglo-Saxon origin and comes from the family once having lived in the region of Gledhill in the West Riding of Yorkshire. The name is a habitational name from the Old English gleoda which means "kite" and hyll which means "hill." 1

Early Origins of the Gliddon family

The surname Gliddon was first found in Yorkshire near Halifax where they held a family seat as Lords of the manor of Gledhill from very ancient times.

Barkisland in the West Riding of Yorkshire was home to another branch of the family but has since been lost. "Barkisland Hall, the ancient seat of the Gledhill family, is a stately mansion in the old English style of domestic architecture, and has long been the property of the Bolds of Bold Hall, Lancashire. The grammar school here, an ancient structure, was endowed in 1657 with £200 by Mrs. Sarah Gledhill" 2

Early History of the Gliddon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gliddon research. Another 127 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1300, 1600, 1638, 1677, 1702, 1707, 1719, 1730 and 1735 are included under the topic Early Gliddon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gliddon Spelling Variations

Sound was what guided spelling in the essentially pre-literate Middle Ages, so one person's name was often recorded under several variations during a single lifetime. Also, before the advent of the printing press and the first dictionaries, the English language was not standardized. Therefore, spelling variations were common, even among the names of the most literate people. Known variations of the Gliddon family name include Gledall, Gledhill, Gladhill, Gladhall, Glanville and others.

Early Notables of the Gliddon family

Distinguished members of the family include Samuel Gledhill (1677-1735), lieutenant-governor of Placentia, Newfoundland from 1719-c.1730. Born at Horbury, near Wakefieid, Yorkshire, he was the youngest of the 13 children of Robert Gledhill, a cloth-dresser and educated at Wakefield Grammar School. He joined the navy but was kidnapped in Spain to be sold as a slave in the West Indies. After gaining his freedom he made his way to Spain and was commissioned a...
Another 73 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gliddon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Gliddon migration to the United States +

For political, religious, and economic reasons, thousands of English families boarded ships for Ireland, Canada, the America colonies, and many of smaller tropical colonies in the hope of finding better lives abroad. Although the passage on the cramped, dank ships caused many to arrive in the New World diseased and starving, those families that survived the trip often went on to make valuable contributions to those new societies to which they arrived. Early immigrants bearing the Gliddon surname or a spelling variation of the name include:

Gliddon Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Donald G. Gliddon, aged 23, originally from Fulham, England, arrived in New York in 1920 aboard the ship "Aquitania" from Southampton, England 3
  • John Gliddon, aged 50, arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Orbita" from Southampton, England 3
  • Barbara Gliddon, aged 22, originally from London, England, arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Olympic" from Southampton, England 3
  • Donald Guilbert Gliddon, aged 24, originally from London, England, arrived in New York in 1921 aboard the ship "Olympic" from Southampton, England 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Gliddon (post 1700) +

  • George Robins Gliddon (1809-1857), English-born American Egyptologist
  • George R. Gliddon, American politician, U.S. Consul in Cairo, 1837-41 4


  1. Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
  2. Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
  3. Ellis Island Search retrieved 15th November 2022. Retrieved from https://heritage.statueofliberty.org/passenger-result
  4. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 16) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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