Show ContentsLithgo History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The ancestral home of the Lithgo family is in the Scottish-English border region where their ancestors lived among the clans of the Boernician tribe. They lived in Linlithgow, located between Edinburgh and Falkirk. The place-name's origins are in the Gaelic: llyn meaning lake or pool, llaith meaning damp, and cau meaning hollow.

Early Origins of the Lithgo family

The surname Lithgo was first found in Linlithgow, a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. One of the earliest records of the name was Magister Symon de Lynlithcu who witnessed an instrument at the church of Cargil in 1225. A few years later in 1245, Petrus de Linlithqw was a canon of the priory of St. Andrews. His successor was Chief of the family name, son of John, and he was confirmed in his lands at Berwick on Tweed in 1280 and 1290. John de Lithcu rendered to Exchequer the account of his disbursements in connection with King Roberts I.

Early History of the Lithgo family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Lithgo research. Another 105 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1220, 1500, 1582, 1645 and 1784 are included under the topic Early Lithgo History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Lithgo Spelling Variations

A lack of rules and the tendency of scribes to spell according to the sound of the word plagued medieval spelling. Not surprisingly, an enormous number of spelling variations appeared. Lithgo has been written Lithgow, Lithgoe, Lithcow and others.

Early Notables of the Lithgo family

Notable amongst the family name during their early history was


United States Lithgo migration to the United States +

Many Scots crossed the Atlantic for North America hoping to escape poverty, as well as persecution. Much of their heritage was lost along the way and overtime. This century, however, Clan societies and highland games have allowed many ancestral Scots to recover their birthright. An examination of many early immigration records reveals that people bearing the name Lithgo arrived in North America very early:

Lithgo Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Elizabeth Lithgo, who arrived in South Carolina in 1800 1


  1. 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)


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