GALLOP
Gallop is a surname of English origin. The name is derived from the Middle English word galop, meaning “to gallop.” It is an occupational surname that would have been given to a person who worked as a horseman or messenger, a role that required fast riding and agility.
Inferring from the linguistic root, the surname has historically been associated with those who served as riders for the gentry, kings or noblemen. In such contexts they might have held hereditary positions such as squires, grooms or, in later periods, paid riders.
An alternate hypothesis, supported by medieval records, is that Gallop is locational in origin. It is believed to derive from a now lost medieval village whose name may have been formed from the Old English personal name Ealda and the suffix op, meaning “hill top.” The place, possibly in the south of England, disappeared during the period between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries when landlords repossessed common lands and the inhabitants moved to urban areas.
The surname appears in many spellings, including Gallop, Gollop, Yallop, Yollop, Jollip, Gillop, and Gillup. These variants are recorded in church registers and civil documents throughout the British Isles.
Early documentary evidence from London is plentiful. In St Pancras Old Church a Barbara Yelpe married John Forest on 14 September 1550. In St Gregory's by St Pauls Cathedral Robert Yollop married Dorothy Spelman on 21 July 1657. In St Dunstans, Stepney, Robert Gillup married in 1663. In St James Clerkenwell Mary Yallop was wed to Charles White on 5 April 1662, and that same year an Ann Gallop married Henry Bankes at the same church on 27 December.
According to Office for National Statistics data for 2019, the name Gallop was recorded on only 430 occasions across the United Kingdom. The majority of those instances – approximately 300 – were located in Wales, in the counties of Gwent, Powys and Rhondda Cynon Taf. Other Welsh counties such as Flintshire and Ceredigion contain smaller numbers of bearers. In England the surname is found at a lower frequency, primarily in the south‑eastern and south‑western regions. Scotland has a limited distribution, with records from the 1851 census documenting families in Stirlingshire and Lanarkshire. In Northern Ireland the surname appeared notably in Antrim, Down and Donegal in the mid‑nineteenth century, and the 1901 census shows a few individuals in Cork, Limerick, Mayo and Tipperary.
Beyond the British Isles, the surname is occasionally recorded in the United States and Canada, sometimes with the spelling Gallopp. There are sporadic references in France, Italy, Portugal and Germany, though these are far less common and may indicate independent adoption of the name rather than a direct genealogical connection to the English Gallop.
Typical given names associated with the Gallop surname
Male
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- John
- Michael
- Nicholas
- Paul
- Peter
- Richard
- Robert
Female
- Alison
- Elizabeth
- Janet
- Jennifer
- Joan
- Julie
- Lynn
- Margaret
- Michelle
- Nicola
- Patricia
- Sarah
- Susan
- Vivien
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 Gallop in...
Braille
⠛⠁⠇⠇⠕⠏
Morse
--..-.-...-..---.--.
Semaphore
There are approximately 1,355 people named Gallop in the UK. That makes it roughly the 5,817th most common surname in Britain. Around 21 in a million people in Britain are named Gallop.
Surname type: Location or geographical feature
Origin: English
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: England
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: English
Famous people named Gallop
- Cindy Gallop - Advertising consultant
- Henry Gallop - Cricketer (1857 to 1940)
- Derek Gallop - Cricketer
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.