CARGILL
Cargill is a surname of Scottish origin, classified as a locational name that derives from a place in Perthshire, Scotland.
The earliest references record the name in the 13th century, where it appears in various forms such as Kergylle (1283), Kergille (1296), Kergill (1401), Cargyl (1497) and Carnigill (1583). The ancestor most often cited is Walter de Kergyle, noted as a charter witness at Drumkerauch in 1260, during the reign of King Alexander the Twelfth of Scotland (1249–1286).
The toponymic basis of the surname is thought to arise from the Gaelic words car, meaning “rock”, and geal, meaning “bright” or “white”. Consequently the name may be interpreted as “bright rock” or “white rock”. In other accounts the root is taken as car gill, translating to “rock in a ravine” or “rock by the watercourse”, which reflects the rugged terrain of Perthshire.
Historically the name was common within East Perthshire, specifically in the parish of The Lands of Cargill. It reached a peak of local prominence in Auchmithie, Angus, where in 1859 a total of 123 out of 375 adult residents bore the surname, illustrating the concentration of the family in that district.
With the political upheavals and economic pressures of the late medieval and early modern periods many Scots emigrated, and the Cargill name later appears in the colonies. Today the surname is most frequently encountered in the United States, reflecting patterns of Scottish immigration during the colonial and early nineteenth centuries. It also occurs in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, though it remains an uncommon name, enabling it to stand out as distinctly Scottish.
Variants of the surname are numerous and typically result from phonetic spelling by clerks and scribes. Besides the earlier forms noted, the surname has also been recorded as Kergill, Kergell, Kergyl, Kergyll, Cargyle and Cargyll. These differences reflect regional dialectal pronunciations and the lack of standardised orthography in early Scotland.
As a habitational surname, Cargill was conferred upon individuals by reference to the place from which they derived, a practice common in the Scottish clan system. The name therefore carries a rich historical tapestry of family ties and ancestral roots tied to the land of Perthshire.
Typical given names associated with the Cargill surname
Male
- Alan
- Alexander
- Andrew
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Robert
- Stephen
- William
Female
- Catherine
- Claire
- Elizabeth
- Emma
- Fiona
- Gail
- Helen
- Jane
- Lynsey
- Margaret
- Marion
- Mary
- Stephanie
- Susan
Similar and related surnames
Related and similar names are generated algorithmically based on the spelling, and may not necessarily share an etymology.
How to communicate the surname Cargill in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 2,546 people named Cargill in the UK. That makes it roughly the 3,460th most common surname in Britain. Around 39 in a million people in Britain are named Cargill.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Scotland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Cargill
- Patrick Cargill - Actor (1918 to 1996)
- Baily Cargill - Football player
- William Cargill - New Zealand politician (1784 to 1860)
- Sir John Cargill, 1st Baronet - Scottish oil magnate (1867 to 1954)
- David Sime Cargill - Businessman (1826 to 1904)
- David Cargill - Olympic alpine skier
- Helen Cargill - Nurse and Royal Air force officer (1896 to 1969)
- Jimmy Cargill - Football player
Names and descriptions courtesy of Wikipedia, and may contain errors. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list of every famous person with this name.