First recorded in 1116 as Glasgu, a burgh on the Clyde. The etymology has been debated for many years, but the current theory is that Glasgow comprises the Brittonic words glas ('grey/green') and cau ('hollows'). The designation 'de Glasgow' was current in the records until the late 15th century, when it quietly attains permanency as a surname: the first (inauspicious) example seems to be Alan Glasgow, who was named as the unfortunate victim in a murder trial in 1494. The currency of the surname would originally be outside the city; and even now there are many more Glasgow's in Edinburgh than in Glasgow. (There is not family-name 'Edinburgh', doubtless because the town was not so called until after the 'surname period'
