Gilchrist (surname)

Gilchrist is a surname of Gaelic language origins. In many cases it is derived from a Scottish Gaelic name, Gille Chrìost, Gille Chriosd,[1][2] meaning "servant of Christ" (i.e. gilla "servant", chriosd "Christ").[3][4] Surnames of similar origins include MacGilchrist and McGilchrist, which are usually derived from Mac Giolla Chriosd or, literally, "son of the servant of Christ". Early, semi-anglicised versions of the surname, recorded include Geilchreist, Gilchryst, Gillchreist, Gillcryst, Mcillchreist and Mylchrest.

In Orkneyinga saga, chapter 63, Haraldr Gilli Magnússon, king of Norway from 1130 to 1136, is first introduced under the name of Gilli-kristr, obviously a Norse version of Gilchrist.

In many, perhaps most, cases, people with these surnames are descendants of the Scottish Clan Gilchrist, a sept of Clan MacLachlan.

People

Given name

See also

References

  1. ^ "Gilchrist Family History". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  2. ^ Black, GF (1971) [1946]. The Surnames of Scotland: Their Origin, Meaning, and History. New York: The New York Public Library. p. 299. ISBN 0-87104-172-3. OL 8346130M – via Open Library.
  3. ^ Owen, RC (1993). The Modern Gaelic-English Dictionary. Glasgow: Gairm Publishers. p. 138. ISBN 1-871901-29-4.
  4. ^ Mark, C (2003). The Gaelic-English Dictionary. New York: Routledge. p. 719. ISBN 0-203-27706-6.
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