Chisholm
A Scottish surname from a place-name, probably referring to a gravelly river island.
The #2,878 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 24,694 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This surname is usually treated as locational, from the old place-name Chisholm in Roxburghshire. One traditional explanation, followed by 19th-century surname writers, links it to an older form meaning something like “gravel” plus “river island” or “islet in a stream.” That makes it a landscape name rather than a nickname or occupation. Later usage also gave the name to the Highland estate and clan known as The Chisholm.
History
The name became established as a Scottish family name, especially associated with the Chisholm clan in the Highlands. Some older writers argued about whether the family was Gaelic, Norman, or Lowland in origin, so the early family history is not entirely settled. As Scots and Scottish emigrants moved abroad, the surname spread and developed spellings such as Chisom and Chisam in North America. The name is still strongly associated with Scotland, particularly Inverness-shire and Roxburghshire.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One old Highland saying lists “The Chisholm” among the only four things said to take a capital T in the Highlands.
From the historical record
“CHISEL. Chishall, two parishes In Essex. CHISHOLM. The right of the C's to be considered a Gaelic clan has been strongly asserted, but Skane thinks their Lowland origin evident, and he deems them a Norman race from Roxburghshire. Scot. Highl. ii. 313. The name however is Saxon enough, from cisU, gravel, and/u*Zw, a…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom