Frequency: (266)
(number of times this surname appears in a sample database of 88.7 million names, representing one third of the 1997 US population)
English: habitational name, perhaps from Guilthwaite in South Yorkshire, which is named from Old Norse gil ‘ravine’ + Old Norse þveit ‘clearing’. However, the modern surname is associated with Essex, suggesting some other source, now lost.
See the Key to the Dictionary or consult the General Introduction for further explanation.
Dictionary of American Family Names. Copyright © 2006 Patrick Hanks. All rights reserved.
