This is an English locational surname. It originates from the village of Gissing in the parish of Diss, Norfolk. Gissing village was first recorded in the famous Domesday Book of the year 1086 as "Gessinga" which translates as "the place of the Gyssa tribe". Who the Gyssa's were is unclear, but the name is found in several other place names throughout the country. These include Gisburn in Yorkshire, and Giselham, otherwise known as Gislingham, in the adjoining county of Suffolk. It is our opinion that "Gyssa" is a form of the pre 7th century Olde English word "gysel", a word applied to a rushing stream. This seems slightly unusual in East Anglia, where except in flood times, streams rarely rush and generally just flow, but would certainly be appropriate for Gisburn.Locational surnames were usually given initially to the lord of the manor and his descendants, and later to former villagers who moved elsewhere. It being then, and to some extent remains so today, that the easiest way to identify a person is to call him or her by the name of the place from whence they came. The first known recording of this surname is that of Adam de Gissing of the county of Norfolk. This was in the Hundred Rolls for the county in the year 1273, in the first year of the reign of King Edward 1st, 1272 - 1307.

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