Gift History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The distinguished German surname Gift is of two possible origins. Firstly, the name is derived from "Gifhorn," the name of a town in the region of Hanover. It was a common practice of the time to refer to a new resident of a city by the name of his hometown; thus, in this case, it is likely that the progenitor of the name was a native of Gifhorn who had settled in another city. Alternatively, the name may be derived from the Old High German "geba," meaning "to give."

Early Origins of the Gift family

The surname Gift was first found in Lower Saxony, where the name is thought to have emerged. The young Gift family was instrumental during this period, playing a major role in the early history of the region and contributing greatly to the development of medieval German society.

Early History of the Gift family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gift research. Another 169 words (12 lines of text) covering the years 1457, 1620, 1645, 1726, 1730, 1732, 1740 and 1870 are included under the topic Early Gift History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gift Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gift, Giff, Giffey, Giffen, Giffhorn, Gifhorn and others.

Early Notables of the Gift family

More information is included under the topic Early Gift Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gift Ranking

In the United States, the name Gift is the 14,622^nd most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1

Gift migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gift Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Nich Gift, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1765 2
Matthias Gift, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1765 2
Peter Gift, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1765 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Gift (post 1700) +

Weldon A. Gift (1895-1977), American Republican politician, Member of Michigan Republican State Central Committee, 1939; Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Michigan, 1940 3
Virginia Gift, American Democratic Party politician, Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Democrats Abroad, 1980, 1984 3
Albert Gift (b. 1890), prominent German business manager
Emil Gift, famous singer known as Emil Grift
Barron Gift Collier (1873-1939), American advertising entrepreneur

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, November 17) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html