Geall

This interesting surname has three origins. Firstly, it may be of British (the extinct Celtic language of the ancient Britons) origin, being a dialectal variant of the nickname "Galol", of Celtic origin, meaning "foreigner" or "stranger". In the Highlands of Scotland the Gaelic term "gall" was applied to people from the English speaking lowlands and to Scandinavians. In Ireland, the same term was applied to settlers who arrived from Wales and England in the wake of the Anglo-Norman invasion. It may also be of French and German origin being a dialectal variant of the given name Gall, itself coming from the Latin "Gallus" meaning "cock", but later associated with the ethnic term "Gallus" "Gaul". The surname dates back to the late 12th Century, (see below). Further recordings include one Richard Galle (1221), witness, "The Assize Rolls of Warwickshire". Variations in the idiom of the spelling include Gylle, Gealle Geale, etc.. One Harry Gylle was christened on August 11th 1541 at St. Stephen, Coleman Street, London and Elizabeth Geall married John Thomason on January 15th 1703, at St. Botolph without Bishopsgate, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Walter Galle, which was dated circa 1170, in the "Transcripts of Charters relating to the Gilbertine Houses", Lincolnshire, during the reign of King Henry 11, known as "The Builder of Churches", 1154 - 1189. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.