On the face of it this is an English locational surname. There are several places or at least localities, called Gold Hill, in the counties of Surrey, Norfolk, Dorset, and Buckingham. All have the same meaning of 'Golda's hill', from the Olde English pre 7th century plant name of 'Golde', (the modern 'Marigold') and describing where these plants grew. A second possible derivation being that the word as 'Golda' was also used as a personal name, to give 'Golda's hill'. However the surprise was that there are no known recordings of any surname associated with these places, or anything like them. The only recording which appeared to have any association was that of William Goldhally or Goldhilly, recorded at Dachet in Buckinghamshire in 1598. However as he was recorded as Goldhake in 1598, and then as Goldhakale in 1607, and all at Dachet, clearly he was not an originator of the surname Goldhill. Turning to the London Register recordings, we find the name well recorded from August 30th 1850, when Janetta, the daughter of Samuel Goldhill, was baptised at the Hambro Synagogue. All recordings for the next thirty years were at this synagogue including that of Albert M. Goldhill, whose son Benjamin was baptised there on October 26th 1875. We can offer no explanation as to where the name originated before 1850.

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