This name is of Scottish regional origin from the district called Galloway in South West Scotland. The name derives from the Gaelic "gall" meaning a stranger or foreigner, plus "Gaidhel" a Gales. The inhabitants of the area were thus referred to because of their alliances with the Norsemen rather than with their fellow Gaels from the 9th Century onwards. The surname is first recorded in the early half of the 13th Century, (see below). One, Jhone of Galloway was a tenant in Kethik in 1495. The variant spellings Galaway and Galway appears in London Church Registers from the mid 16th Century. Alyce Galaway and John Page were married in St. Margarets, Westminster on August 7th 1522, and on April 27th 1689 Mary Galway and Jacob Crayle were married in St. Mary Magdalene's, Milk Street, London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Thomas de (of) Galwethia, Earl of Atholl. which was dated circa 1230, He made a gift of lands to Neubotle Abbey. during the reign of King Alexander II of Scotland, 1214 - 1249. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

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