KILGOUR
Kilgour is a surname of Gaelic origin, rooted in the Scottish tradition of naming families after local places and notable features of the landscape.
The name derives from the Gaelic words cill meaning “church” and gobhar meaning “goat.” Hence the literal interpretation of the surname is “church of the goat” or “goat church,” a nomenclature that likely referred to a location near a church where goats were kept or where goats played an important role in the local economy.
In the early fifteenth century, the surname can be linked to the lands of Kilgour, situated near Falkland in the county of Fife. The earliest recorded bearer of the name was Sir Thomas Kilgour, who in about 1538 is listed in contemporary accounts as both a merchant and a chaplain at the church of St. Thomas in the palace of Holyrood House.
Sir Thomas Kilgour’s name appears repeatedly in the financial records for payments made for bear skins. The precise purpose of these skins is not recorded, but their presence indicates that the merchant was engaged in trade that involved the acquisition or sale of animal skins, a common commodity in the period.
Other entries from the middle of the sixteenth century include David Kilgour of Lathrisk in 1555, and an Alexander Kylgour identified as the heir to his father, also named Alexander Kylgour, of Nethill in 1600.
During the early sixteenth century the name found itself associated with several members of the clergy. In 1607 a John Kilgour is cited as residing at the cathedral church of Aberdeen, and nearly a century later the name graces the record of Hamilton Kilgour, minister of Collace, who died in 1777.
Although the surname originates from the Fife region, it has been documented as far afield as Aberdeenshire. The extent of its distribution in the early modern period is noted in surviving registers, though the exact circumstances of its spread remain open to interpretation.
The Kilgour name is a testament to the intertwining of local geography, occupational activity and ecclesiastical life in Scotland, and it remains an identifiable marker of Gaelic heritage within the British Isles.
Typical given names associated with the Kilgour surname
Male
- Alexander
- Andrew
- Christopher
- David
- Ian
- James
- John
- Paul
- Peter
- Robert
- William
Female
- Ann
- Anne
- Catherine
- Elizabeth
- Gillian
- Jane
- Jean
- Margaret
- Mary
- Sandra
- Sarah
- Susan
- Zeba
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 Kilgour in...
Braille
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Morse
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Semaphore
There are approximately 1,548 people named Kilgour in the UK. That makes it roughly the 5,229th most common surname in Britain. Around 24 in a million people in Britain are named Kilgour.
Surname type: From name of parent
Origin: Celtic
Region of origin: British Isles
Country of origin: Ireland
Religion of origin: Christian
Language of origin: Gaelic
Famous people named Kilgour
- Alfie Kilgour -
- Rab Kilgour - Scottish 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.