Glasgow History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Scotland
Ireland

Etymology of Glasgow

What does the name Glasgow mean?

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

John Glasgow, King's Caterer

Glasgow Ranking

In the United States, the name Glasgow is the 4,514^th 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

Agnes Glasgow, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1742 2
James Glasgow, who arrived in South Carolina in 1769 2

Glasgow Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Edward Glasgow, aged 17, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1812 2
Robert Glasgow, aged 25, who landed in New York in 1835 2
Samuel M Glasgow, aged 21, who arrived in New York in 1841 2
Ms. Judith Glasgow, (b. 1799), aged 49, Barbadian nurse traveling aboard the ship "Thomas Wattson" arriving in Philadelphia in 1848 she was traveling on to Canada 3

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

Mr. Alexander Glasgow, Scottish convict who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for 14 years, transported aboard the "Champion" on 24th May 1827, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 4
Miss Eliza Glasgow who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Edward" on 23rd April 1834, arriving in Tasmania, (Van Diemen's Land) 5
Miss Catherine Glasgow, English convict who was convicted in Bolton, Lancashire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Duchess of Northumberland" on 25th November 1852, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 6

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

Adam Glasgow, who landed in Turakina, New Zealand in 1840
John Glasgow, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
Robert Glasgow, who landed in Wellington, New Zealand in 1840
Robert Glasgow, who arrived in Nelson, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bombay" in 1842 7
Miss Jean Glasgow, Scottish settler from Tillicoultry travelling from Glasgow aboard the ship "Strathfieldsaye" arriving in Port Chalmers, Dunedin, Otago, South Island, New Zealand on 29th April 1858 8
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

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

John Glasgow, who landed in Antigua (Antego) in 1707-1708 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Glasgow (post 1700) +

Robert Glasgow (1942-2023), American Democratic Party politician from Stephenville, Texas, who held office as a member of the Senate of Texas
Hugh Glasgow (1769-1818), American politician, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania (1813-1817)
William Glasgow (1906-1972), American Academy Award nominated art director
Walter Glasgow (1957-1976), American silver medalist sailor at the 1976 Summer Olympics
James Glasgow (1735-1819), American politician from Maryland, the 1st North Carolina Secretary of State (1777 to 1798)
Chad Glasgow (b. 1972), American college football coach and former player
Scott Glasgow, American Hollywood based musical composer, best known for Spider-Man 2 (2004), The Gene Generation (2007) and The Skeleton Key (2005)
Nesby Lee Glasgow (b. 1957), former professional American NFL football safety
Ellen Anderson Gholson Glasgow (1873-1945), American Pulitzer Prize winning novelist for In This Our Life (1941)
Henry Bird "Harry" Glasgow (1939-2016), Scottish football player and manager
... (Another 9 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Glasgow family +

SS Caribou

Mr. William Allen Glasgow, British passenger who was Royal Navy from Verdun, Quebec was travelling aboard the railway ferry "SS Caribou" when it was struck by a German submarine torpedo on 14th October 1942, the most significant sinking in Canadian waters at that time, he died in the sinking

The Glasgow Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Lord, let Glasgow flourish

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
Barbados archives retrieved 2nd November 2021 from https://attheBarbadosarchives.wordpress.com/2003/07/18/Barbados-heritage-passenger-lists-and-Barbados-departures/
Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 18th January 2021 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/champion
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 25th January 2022). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/edward
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 22nd July 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/duchess-of-northumberland
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 7th November 2010). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 26th March 2019). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies