Gist
An old nickname surname from a word meaning “guest” or “stranger,” and in some cases possibly from a Scandinavian-looking term for a hostage or pledge.
The #5,419 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 48,076 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The surname Gist is usually explained as a nickname surname from Middle English gest or gist, meaning “guest” or “received stranger.” That word goes back to older Germanic forms found in Old English and related languages, and it appears in early records as a personal byname. Some 19th-century writers also compared similar northern forms meaning “hostage” or “pledge,” so the name may have more than one historical pathway in different families.
History
Early spellings such as Gest and Gist are found in medieval English records, including forms like Roger Gest and Laurence le Gist. The surname appears mainly in England in the historical record, and later spread with migration to North America. Because the word was used as a descriptive byname, the name could originally have referred to someone seen as a stranger, visitor, or newcomer.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Medieval records show both Gest and Gist forms, and the surname Guest is often treated as the more familiar modern cousin of the same name family.
From the historical record
“gest-r), guest, stranger. (In jJUrely A.- Saxon names the form of the second element was usiially -gist, as in the case of the FriYegist mentioned in the Chronicle, A.I). 993). It Pend- is Teutonic it must be the same word as O.Fris. pend, pand = East Fris.”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)