Gourlay Surname
Approximately 8,570 people bear this surname
Gourlay Surname Definition:
Probably from some place in England. Ingelramus de Gourlay, first of the name recorded in Scotland, held land in Clydesdale and in Lothian c. 1174 (Caledonia, I, p. 132). His son, Hugh de Gerley, possessed lands in Fife and Lothians, and some time after 1180 witnessed a charter by Ingelram de Balliol of the church of Inuerkileder to Abbey of Arnbroath (RAA.
Read More About This SurnameGourlay Surname Distribution Map
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 2,359 | 1:2,270 | 419 |
| Australia | 1,541 | 1:17,518 | 2,457 |
| England | 1,329 | 1:41,925 | 5,368 |
| United States | 1,110 | 1:326,540 | 29,667 |
| France | 874 | 1:75,999 | 10,674 |
| Canada | 849 | 1:43,399 | 5,379 |
| New Zealand | 184 | 1:24,610 | 4,301 |
| South Africa | 102 | 1:531,154 | 42,340 |
| Wales | 63 | 1:49,120 | 4,600 |
| Singapore | 30 | 1:183,590 | 7,666 |
| Thailand | 21 | 1:3,363,731 | 310,277 |
| Northern Ireland | 18 | 1:102,502 | 6,334 |
| Germany | 14 | 1:5,750,390 | 205,224 |
| Qatar | 9 | 1:262,000 | 30,726 |
| United Arab Emirates | 9 | 1:1,018,030 | 36,884 |
| Hong Kong | 8 | 1:916,935 | 4,774 |
| Finland | 5 | 1:1,099,340 | 45,512 |
| Malaysia | 5 | 1:5,898,845 | 196,803 |
| Denmark | 4 | 1:1,411,179 | 60,800 |
| Switzerland | 3 | 1:2,737,638 | 105,941 |
| Brazil | 3 | 1:71,358,111 | 770,017 |
| Spain | 3 | 1:15,584,012 | 120,866 |
| Czechia | 3 | 1:3,544,490 | 144,714 |
| Vietnam | 2 | 1:46,323,027 | 5,235 |
| Philippines | 2 | 1:50,619,112 | 341,003 |
| Norway | 2 | 1:2,571,143 | 95,402 |
| Nigeria | 2 | 1:88,571,379 | 625,098 |
| Kazakhstan | 1 | 1:17,682,496 | 204,010 |
| Ireland | 1 | 1:4,708,939 | 29,543 |
| China | 1 | 1:1,367,321,566 | 51,149 |
| Cambodia | 1 | 1:15,487,146 | 14,824 |
| Greece | 1 | 1:11,079,790 | 145,225 |
| Iceland | 1 | 1:380,090 | 11,096 |
| Italy | 1 | 1:61,156,688 | 199,583 |
| Jersey | 1 | 1:99,202 | 6,620 |
| Azerbaijan | 1 | 1:9,649,122 | 47,873 |
| Portugal | 1 | 1:10,418,241 | 25,048 |
| Mexico | 1 | 1:124,126,205 | 103,776 |
| Netherlands | 1 | 1:16,887,176 | 156,465 |
| Sweden | 1 | 1:9,846,757 | 347,448 |
| South Korea | 1 | 1:51,240,256 | 8,015 |
| Papua New Guinea | 1 | 1:8,153,717 | 181,784 |
| Belgium | 1 | 1:11,496,644 | 167,539 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 19 | 1:233,151 | 10,389 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 1,556 | 1:2,406 | 431 |
| England | 123 | 1:198,174 | 15,835 |
| Wales | 3 | 1:522,805 | 14,314 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 139 | 1:361,285 | 27,442 |
Gourlay (14) may also be a first name.
Gourlay Surname Meaning
From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history
Probably from some place in England. Ingelramus de Gourlay, first of the name recorded in Scotland, held land in Clydesdale and in Lothian c. 1174 (Caledonia, I, p. 132). His son, Hugh de Gerley, possessed lands in Fife and Lothians, and some time after 1180 witnessed a charter by Ingelram de Balliol of the church of Inuerkileder to Abbey of Arnbroath (RAA., I, p. 39; Jervise, Angus, p. 312). A later lngeramus Gerle was witness, 1244 (Cambus., 171), Hugh Gurle and William Gerle were present at a conference at Roxbergh, 1254 (ES., II, p. 583), and William, son of William Gerlay, made a gift to Abbey of Newbattle, 1293 (Neubotle, p. 175). Several of the name rendered homage in 1296, viz. Roger Gourlay, William de Gurleye, Huwe de Gerleghe, and Patrick de Gerleghe, parson of the church of Loghorwerde, all four of the county of Edinbergh (Bain, II, p. 208). Adam de Gurle of Roxburghe also rendered homage, and as Adam de Goerlay appears as witness at Roxburgh, 1304 (ibid., p. 209,376). Sir Patrick Gourlay, rector of the church of Lochorwart, was also witness between 1300 and 1320 (Hay, p. 7). Alain de Gourlay and Adam de Gourlay were on inquest at Roxbergh, 1303 (Bain, II, 1435). Payment of a debt for sheep was made to Hugh of Gurlay, 1328, and in 1330 Robert Gourlay was provost of Stirling (ER., I, p. 116,266). Henry Gourlaw in 1380 granted to his son John the lands of Reuelwood in parish of Cavers which lands remained in his family till sold by them after the Reformation (OPS., I, p. 527). John Gourlaw, monk of Arnbroath, 1392 (Cambus., 75), and Alexander Gourlay of Kyncraig attested to the marches of Kyrknes and Louchor, 1395 (RPSA., p. 5). John Gourlaw was king's officer, 1529 (Irvine, I, p. 36), and Robert Gourlay was a distinguished merchant and citizen of Edinbergh, in latter half of the sixteenth century. Thomas Gurlay was attorney at Perth, 1546 (Rottok, 20). The Gourlays of Kincraig, Fife, held those lands for over six hundred years. There is a Gourlaw near Lasswade, Midlothian, but this may have been named after the family. Gorlay 1286, Gowrlaw 1509, Gurla 1689, Gurlaw 1574, Gwrla 1540, Gwyrlay 1532; Goirlay, Gouerlay.
(English) Dweller at a Gore-Lea [v. under Gore, and + Middle English ley, lay, Old English leáh]
This name, which is probably Norman, was introduced into Scotland by William the Lion, after his captivity. Nisbet.
Gourlay Demographics
Average Gourlay Salary in
United States
$51,883 USD
Per year
Average Salary in
United States
$43,149 USD
Per year
View the highest/lowest earning families in The United States
Gourlay Last Name Facts
Where Does The Last Name Gourlay Come From? nationality or country of origin
Gourlay is most common in Scotland. It may occur in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this name click here.
How Common Is The Last Name Gourlay? popularity and diffusion
Gourlay is the 58,899th most widespread surname worldwide. It is borne by around 1 in 850,355 people. The last name Gourlay occurs predominantly in Europe, where 55 percent of Gourlay live; 44 percent live in Northern Europe and 44 percent live in British Isles. It is also the 3,024,661st most numerous first name on earth, held by 14 people.
Gourlay is most numerous in Scotland, where it is borne by 2,359 people, or 1 in 2,270. In Scotland Gourlay is most prevalent in: Fife, where 16 percent are found, Glasgow City, where 11 percent are found and Dundee City, where 6 percent are found. Barring Scotland it occurs in 42 countries. It is also found in Australia, where 18 percent are found and England, where 16 percent are found.
Gourlay Family Population Trend historical fluctuation
The prevalency of Gourlay has changed over time. In Scotland the number of people who held the Gourlay surname expanded 152 percent between 1881 and 2014; in England it expanded 1,080 percent between 1881 and 2014; in The United States it expanded 799 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Wales it expanded 2,100 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it decreased 95 percent between 1901 and 2014.
Gourlay Last Name Statistics demography
The religious adherence of those bearing the last name is principally Presbyterian (68%) in Ireland.
In The United States Gourlay are 14.1% more likely to be registered with the Republican Party than the national average, with 60.87% being registered with the political party.
The amount Gourlay earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 139.73% more than the national average, earning R 569,700 per year; in United States they earn 20.24% more than the national average, earning $51,883 USD per year and in Canada they earn 11.97% more than the national average, earning $55,630 CAD per year.
Phonetically Similar Names
Search for Another Surname
Gourlay Reference & Research
GURLEY FamilyTree DNA Group - A group collating DNA test results for those who bear the surname, includes results of DNA tests and discussions.
GURLEY FamilyTree DNA Project - A description of a group researching the paternal lines of men who bear the surname with the help of DNA analysis.
The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data
Footnotes
- Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
- Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
- Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
- Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
- Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
- Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
- Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Gourlay
- To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on FamilySearch, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis