Gammon
A surname with several competing origins, including an old Gaelic explanation and a possible English-French surname line.
The #5,428 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 48,129 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The origin of Gammon is not settled. One 19th-century source derives it from Gaelic forms meaning either “bear” or “calf of the plain,” though that explanation is not widely established. Other surname writers group Gammon with related forms such as Gamon and suggest a Germanic or Old French personal-name origin, but the evidence is mixed and the name may have more than one source.
History
The surname appears in English records by the 16th and 17th centuries, and related spellings such as Gamon and Gammon occur in later sources. It is also discussed in Irish surname literature, where it is sometimes linked to Gaelic families by way of older forms and anglicized spellings. Because the name may have arisen independently in different places, its family history can vary by line.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Bardsley’s and Charnock’s surname books do not agree on Gammon’s derivation, which is a good reminder that some surnames have more than one plausible family history.
From the historical record
“GAME. See WALKINGHA.ME. GAMMON. From Gaelic ma-ghamuim, a bear; from magh- ghabhuin, literally a calf of the plain. GANDER. Some derive this name from the bird. Grimm also refers the name of the great Vandal chief Genseric to g'dnserich, a gander. Gander is more probably from 0. TS.gandr, a wolf. Gandr occurs as a…”
— Ludus Patronymicus; or, the etymology of curious surnames