This is an Olde English locational name which derives from the City of Guildford in Surrey or from residence by a ford of golden flowers. The origination was "Gylde-forda" and there is some belief that in the Dark Ages the area was renowned for its wild Marigolds. The town name is first recorded in the Anglo Saxon Chronicles of 880 AD., as "Gyldeford" and in the Domesday Book (1086) as Geldeford or Guldeford, the surname development includes the following:- Zachariah Gillford who was baptised at St. Dunstans, Stepney in 1658 and Thomas Gulliford at St. Botolphs without Aldgate in 1684. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Martha Gullyford. which was dated 1558, Married at St. Martins, Ludgate, London. during the reign of Queen Mary 1, known as "Bloody Mary", 1554 - 1558. 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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