Glasgow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms 

Origins Available: 
  Scotland 
  Ireland 


The ancestors of the Glasgow family lived among the Strathclyde-Briton people of the Scottish/English Borderlands. Glasgow is a name for someone who lived in the city of Glasgow on the river Clyde in the county of Renfrew (first recorded in 1116 as Glasgu), or from either of two minor places with the same name in Aberdeenshire. The origins of the place name are uncertain, it may come from the Welsh glas, or "gray," and cau, meaning "hollows."

Early Origins of the Glasgow family

The surname Glasgow was first found in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Friù), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern 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 Glasgow family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Glasgow research. Another 74 words (5 lines of text) covering the years 1258, 1299, 1343 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Glasgow History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Glasgow Spelling Variations

Spelling and translation were hardly exact sciences in Medieval Scotland. Sound, rather than any set of rules, was the basis for spellings, so one name was often spelled different ways even within a single document. Spelling variations are thus an extremely common occurrence in Medieval Scottish names. Glasgow has been spelled Glassgow, Glasgow, Glassgaw and others.

Early Notables of the Glasgow family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

Glasgow Ranking

In the United States, the name Glasgow is the 4,514th most popular surname with an estimated 7,461 people with that name. 1

Migration of the Glasgow family to Ireland

Some of the Glasgow family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 61 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


Glasgow migration to the United States +

Such hard times forced many to leave their homeland in search of opportunity across the Atlantic. Many of these families settled along the east coast of North America in communities that would become the backbones of the young nations of the United States and Canada. The ancestors of many of these families have rediscovered their roots in the 20th century through the establishment of Clan societies and other patriotic Scottish organizations. Among them:

Glasgow Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
Glasgow Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Glasgow migration to Australia +

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

Glasgow Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Glasgow migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Glasgow Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Glasgow migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 9
Glasgow Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Glasgow (post 1700) +


Suggested Readings for the name Glasgow +
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