Gaylord
An old nickname surname for a cheerful or bold person, though some writers also linked it to Norman place-names.
The #6,567 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 59,846 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname is usually explained from Old French gaillard, meaning lively, cheerful, bold, or hearty. In Middle English this became a nickname for a bright, spirited person, and the surname was later fixed in spellings such as Gaylard, Gaylor, and Gaylord. Some older writers also suggested a Norman place-name origin, but the nickname explanation is the more direct and commonly accepted one.
History
The name appears in medieval and early modern records in several spellings, including Gaylard and Gaylor. Nineteenth-century surname writers often treated it as a variant of Gaillard/Gallard, and one source speculated about a connection with Château Gaillard in Normandy. In English-speaking countries, Gaylord survived as a relatively uncommon but stable surname.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
One cited Chaucer passage uses a form of the word to mean a cheerful or comely fellow, showing how naturally the nickname sense fit everyday speech.
From the historical record
“Gayeler, Gayliu", and Gayolir. GAYLORD. "Has no reference to aristocratical gaieties, but means simijly jovial or jolly." B. Surn. i. 145. See AVright's Chaucer, 4364 :— !' A prentys dwelled whilom in our citee, And of the craft of vitaillers was he ; Oai/ktrd he was as goldfjiiche in a scliawe, Brown as a bery…”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United Kingdom