Show ContentsGolightly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The annals of Scottish history reveal that Golightly was first used as a name by descendants of the Pictish tribe of ancient Scotland. The Golightly family lived in some place which is now obscure. The surname Golightly belongs to the category of habitation names, which are derived from pre-existing names for towns, villages, parishes, or farmsteads. [1]

Other sources claim the name is "a nickname for messenger, runner, [2] or "a messenger or runner [who] was fleet of foot." [3]

Early Origins of the Golightly family

The surname Golightly was first found in Perthshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Pheairt) former county in the present day Council Area of Perth and Kinross, located in central Scotland, where they held a family seat from very ancient times, some say well before the Norman Conquest and the arrival of Duke William at Hastings in 1066 A.D.

Early History of the Golightly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Golightly research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1291, 1296, 1745, 1762, 1784 and 1789 are included under the topic Early Golightly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Golightly Spelling Variations

During the Middle Ages, there was no basic set of rules and scribes wrote according to sound. The correct spelling of Scottish names were further compromised after many haphazard translations from Gaelic to English and back. Spelling variations of the name Golightly include Galletly, Gallightly, Gellatly, Gellately, Gillatly, Golightly and many more.

Early Notables of the Golightly family

Notable amongst the Clan at this time was Anne Catleyborn, born in 1745 in an alley near "Tower Hill, London of very humble parents, her father being a hackney coachman, and her mother a washerwoman. Endowed with great personal beauty, a charming voice, and a natural talent for singing, she gained her living at the early age of 10 years by singing in the public houses in the neighbourhood, and also for the diversion of the officers quartered in the Tower. When about 15 years of age she was...
Another 88 words (6 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Golightly Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Golightly Ranking

In the United States, the name Golightly is the 10,224th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [4]


United States Golightly migration to the United States +

Scots left their country by the thousands to travel to Australia and North America. Desperate for freedom and an opportunity to fend for themselves, many paid huge fees and suffered under terrible conditions on long voyages. Still, for those who made the trip, freedom and opportunity awaited. In North America, many fought their old English oppressors in the American War of Independence. In recent years, Scottish heritage has been an increasingly important topic, as Clan societies and other organizations have renewed people's interest in their history. An examination of passenger and immigration lists shows many early settlers bearing the name of Golightly:

Golightly Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • T J Golightly, who arrived in Texas in 1835 [5]

Australia Golightly migration to Australia +

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

Golightly Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Golightly (post 1700) +

  • William Leslie "Crip" Golightly (1900-1974), American college basketball head coach of the Texas Tech Matadors basketball team (1930-1931)
  • Gage Golightly (b. 1993), born Traja Gaj Golightly, an American actress best known for her role as Hayley Steele in the Nickelodeon series The Troop (2009-2011)
  • Holly Golightly (b. 1964), American comic book writer and artist
  • Millard S. Golightly, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for West Virginia State Senate 15th District, 1956 [7]
  • Charles Pourtales Golightly (1807-1885), Anglican clergyman and religious writer, born on 23 May 1807, second son of William Golightly of Ham, Surrey [8]
  • John Golightly (b. 1936), English actor, best known for his role in Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984), The Heroes of Telemark (1965) and Lifeforce (1985)
  • Holly Golightly (b. 1966), born Holly Golightly Smith, an English singer-songwriter


The Golightly Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Hactenus invictus
Motto Translation: Hitherto unconquered.


  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Harrison, Henry, Surnames of the United Kingdom: A Concise Etymological Dictionary Baltimore: Geneological Publishing Company, 2013. Print
  3. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  4. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  5. 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)
  6. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th October 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/blenheim
  7. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2016, January 7) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  8. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020


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