Glasgow
A locational surname for someone from the Scottish city of Glasgow.
The #3,913 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 34,010 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname comes from the place-name Glasgow, the large city on the River Clyde in Scotland. Older etymologies usually treat the place-name as Gaelic and Brittonic/Cumbric in origin, and many derive it from elements meaning something like “green” and “dear/valuable place” or “green hollow.” In surname use, it simply identified a person who came from Glasgow or was otherwise connected with the city.
History
As with many locational surnames, it would originally have been used to identify people who had moved away from the city. It is found as an English-language surname in Scotland and beyond, and later became established in North America and other English-speaking regions. The name is especially familiar because of the prominence of the city itself, which also makes it an easy surname to recognize.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because Glasgow is such a well-known city, the surname is one of those that can be understood instantly as “someone from there.”
From the historical record
“bert's Cornwall, ii. 171. GLASGOW. Tlie great northern city. GLASIBR. A glazier. GLASS. A parish in cos. Aberdeen and Banff ; also an island, a lake, and a river in Scotland. GLASSBROOK. See Glazebrook. GLASSCOCK. See Nicholas. The Glascocks of High Estre, co. Essex, traced”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom