Gallwy History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland
• Scotland
• England

Etymology of Gallwy

When the Anglo-Normans began to settle in Ireland, they brought the tradition of local surnames to an island which already had a Gaelic naming system of hereditary surnames established. Unlike the Irish, the Anglo-Normans had an affinity for local surnames. Local surnames, such as Gallwy, were formed from the names of a place or a geographical landmark where the person lived, held land, or was born. The earliest Anglo-Norman surnames of this type came from Normandy, but as the Normans moved, they created names that referred to where they actually resided. Therefore, English places were used for names when the Normans lived in England, and then Irish places after these particular Anglo-Normans had been settled in Ireland for some time. Originally, these place names were prefixed by de, which means from in French. However, this type of prefix was eventually either made a part of the surname, if the place name began with a vowel, or it was eliminated entirely. The Gallwy family originally lived in either of two places. The Gallwy family of Ulster derives its name from the region of Galloway in southern Scotland, which lies nearby. However, the southern Gallwy family probably derives its surname from the city or county of Galway in Ireland.

Early Origins of the Gallwy family

Early History of the Gallwy family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gallwy research. Another 78 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1361 and 1430 are included under the topic Early Gallwy History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gallwy Spelling Variations

Medieval scribes and church officials spelt names simply the way they sounded, which explains the various name spelling variations of the name Gallwy that were encountered when researching that surname. The many spelling variations included: Galwey, Galswey, Galway, Gallway, Gallwey and many more.

Early Notables of the Gallwy family

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

Migration of the Gallwy family

During the middle of the 19th century, Irish families often experienced extreme poverty and racial discrimination in their own homeland under English rule. Record numbers died of disease and starvation and many others, deciding against such a fate, boarded ships bound for North America. The largest influx of Irish settlers occurred with Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s. Unfortunately, many of those Irish that arrived in Canada or the United States still experienced economic and racial discrimination. Although often maligned, these Irish people were essential to the rapid development of these countries because they provided the cheap labor required for the many canals, roads, railways, and other projects required for strong national infrastructures. Eventually the Irish went on to make contributions in the less backbreaking and more intellectual arenas of commerce, education, and the arts. Research early immigration and passenger lists revealed many early immigrants bearing the name Gallwy: James Galway who settled in New York State in 1803; another two James Galways settled in Pennsylvania, one in 1773 and one in 1846.