Any idea what this surname might be? Garleforde

[SamuelF992]

Hi all,

I've come across a surname in my ancestry that I've never seen before. The surname is Garleforde, sometimes spelt Garliford/Garleford etc. The first transcription I saw of it was "Garliverd" in the 1670 marriage of Margaret Garliverd and Jeffrey Stoneman. From the records I can see on ancestry it seems to be almost entirely localised to North Devon. I can't see any entries on Wikitree for it.

Just wondering if anyone had any ideas of a more popular surname it could be related to - my first thought was Gulliver - or if it's a local oddity.

Best wishes
Samuel

[rosie99]

Galliford 

[SamuelF992]

It's strange isn't it. I think I might have solved it though! On some old maps "Garliford" is a small farm/mill east of South Molton. There's a "Garliford Lane" still in the area. There's also a Garliford Farm and House. I guess I just need to clarify if the family took their name from the location or vice-versa.

[Watson]

P.H. Reaney's dictionary of surnames gives Galliford as a variant of Gulliver.

[Ian Nelson]

 a very long shot but is it possible it is of Huguenot origin as they escaped from France & Wallonia from the 16th Century onwards ....
cheers, Ian

https://www.huguenots-france.org/english/pastors/surn0.htm

[KGarrad]

It's strange isn't it. I think I might have solved it though! On some old maps "Garliford" is a small farm/mill east of South Molton. There's a "Garliford Lane" still in the area. There's also a Garliford Farm and House. I guess I just need to clarify if the family took their name from the location or vice-versa.

There's also Garliford Moors.

[Andrew Tarr]

There's also a Garliford Farm and House. I guess I just need to clarify if the family took their name from the location or vice-versa.

I think with a name ending in -ford, name derived from place is much more likely.  Surnames which look like a place-name often indicate that its original owner was seen as a visitor from elsewhere.

I once stayed at Fursdon House in Devon when it was still occupied by a family of that name who had been there for centuries.  Sadly I think they have now moved on.