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| Origins Available: |
| | Scotland |
The Pictish clans of ancient Scotland were the ancestors of the first people to use the name Gwaltney. It comes from in some place which is now obscure. The surname Gwaltney 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
The surname Gwaltney 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.
This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gwaltney research. Another 79 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1291, 1296, 1745, 1762, 1784 and 1789 are included under the topic Early Gwaltney History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
Translation has done much to alter the appearance of many Scottish names. It was a haphazard process that lacked a basic system of rules. Spelling variations were a common result of this process. Gwaltney has appeared Galletly, Gallightly, Gellatly, Gellately, Gillatly, Golightly and many more.
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 Gwaltney Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
In the United States, the name Gwaltney is the 10,494th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4
Many Scots left their country to travel to the North American colonies in search of the freedom they could not find at home. Of those who survived the difficult voyage, many found the freedom they so desired. There they could choose their own beliefs and allegiances. Some became United Empire Loyalists and others fought in the American War of Independence. The Clan societies and highland games that have sprung up in the last century have allowed many of these disparate Scots to recover their collective national identity. A search of immigration and passenger ship lists revealed many early settlers bearing the Gwaltney name: