Guilkay History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

On the Scottish west coast, the Guilkay family was born among the ancient Dalriadan clans. Their name comes from the Gaelic "Gille Criosd", which means "the servant of Christ".

Early Origins of the Guilkay family

The surname Guilkay was first found in Angus (Gaelic: Aonghas), part of the Tayside region of northeastern Scotland, and present day Council Area of Angus, formerly known as Forfar or Forfarshire, where they held a family seat some say as far back as the 12th century. The first record of the name was in Cupar-Angus in the 15th century where they held a family seat at Murthly in Atholl, in the parish of Little Dunkeld in Perthshire.

Early History of the Guilkay family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Guilkay research. Another 88 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1600, 1680 and 1800 are included under the topic Early Guilkay History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Guilkay Spelling Variations

In various documents Guilkay has been spelled Since medieval scribes still spelled according to sound, records from that era contain an enormous number of spelling variations. Gilchristson, Gilkerson, Gilkison, Gilcriston, Gilkersone, MacGilchrist, McGilchrist, Gilchristoun, Kilkerson, Gilkisone, Gilkrisoune, Gilkcrissone and many more.

Early Notables of the Guilkay family

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

Migration of the Guilkay family to Ireland

Some of the Guilkay family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. More information about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Guilkay family

Significant portions of the populations of both the United States and Canada are still made up of the ancestors of Dalriadan families. Some of those in Canada originally settled the United States, but went north as United Empire Loyalists in the American War of Independence. The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw the ancestors of many Scots on both sides of the border begin to recover their collective national heritage through Clan societies and highland games. Some of the first North American settlers carried this name or one of its variants: Archibald and Robert Gilkeson settled in Augusta County, Virginia in 1767.