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The following text is from the introduction to Jack Stanley Gallifant's Study ...
Notes on the Origin of the Family Name of Gallifant/Gallafent
The spelling 'Gallifant' is used in the heading of these rough notes, not because it is more correct than others but because it is the earliest of the present day spellings, being the one used in an official document of 1663 AD.
C.L. Ewen in his 'Dictionary of Surnames' (1931), attempts no explanation of this surname, whose significance has, he says been lost due to corruption of orthography. Even today, brothers, members of the family, spell the name differently due to variations in birth registration. As will be seen below, different spellings were often used for the same person.
A genealogist, dealing with surnames in bulk cannot be expected to spend a lot of time on anyone name but curiosity has led some members of the family, to do this over the years. Recently, the services of a genealogist have been obtained and the research intensified. Help has been given by the county record offices of Essex, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. Old wills have been hunted out and photographed and parish registers, some going back to 1538, have been searched.
It soon became apparent how wise Ewen was to avoid the pitfalls encountered in searching for the origin of the name. The more so because the many superficial explanations given are quite reasonable. The word has no connection with the word Gulliver and the family did not come over with the Huguenots - it was established in England, in the Colne valley Essex, long before.
As long ago as 1600 AD. all idea of meaning had gone from the name leaving it without any protection against the ravages of illiteracy. There is ample evidence that the following spellings have been used by the family or by records referring to them: Gurlevans, Garlyvanne, Girlivance, Gurlifance, Gullifance, Gallowphank, Gallophant, Gurlephanks, Gullyphane, Gulliphant, Gallifant, Gallafent, Gallifent, Gallafant.
The last four names are present day spellings and the list is roughly in time order starting in 1506 AD. The latest common ancestor of all existing branches of the family was William Gullyphane or Gallifant, a yeoman of Halstead, Essex, who died 1707 leaving two sons and six daughters. He himself descended from Henry Gallifonts or Gallifant who married Dorothy Bunting at Halstead in August 1623. At least since 1490 and up to 1900, branches of the family have been living within six miles of Halstead. The names White (Colne) and (Colne) Engaine could have been derived from property held in olden days by the Gallifants because records testify that "Whites" of White Colne and "Gains" of Colne Engaine were residences of the family. The ancient name for Colne Engaine was Gains Colne. As to all of the above, we are on safe ground but in an endeavour to trace back still further, we offer two theories, one of which is almost certainly correct.
1. A mile or two from Halstead stands a small farmhouse shown on the ordnance survey map of Essex as "Gladfen Hall". A building of that name stood there during the 12th century. The Anglo-Saxon word was variously spelt: Gladefen, Gladenfen, Gladafans. At that time a younger branch of the Gernon family lived there and took the name of the house as their surname. An Osbert de Gladfen lived in Halstead about 1200 AD. Before 1300 AD., this property passed from the Gladafan family, being given by them to Leighs Priory. The Gladefen Gernons descended from Robert Gernon or Grenon" a warrior who assisted William the Conqueror" and was rewarded by him with several estates including the small Gladafan manor. Robert Gernon belonged to the House of Boulogne from which also descended King Stephen of England. See Holman's "Halstead" and Morant's and Wright's "History of Essex". Theory 1 therefore is that the name Gladefans has slowly changed through the centuries to the present four variations.
2. An old will has been found, dated 1506, which is the earliest known record of the present family. In it the surname is spelt "Gurlevans". Another wider search uncovered the following entry in the Calendar of Patent Rolls Ed. I. 1291-1301, page 23, dated 16 June 1293 Westminster: "Protection until the assumption for ... William de Gurlevanz...merchants of Waban and Berk coming to the ports and elsewhere to view their goods which they say have been lately seized at sea by sailors of the realm". Berk was in Flanders. So, a Gurlevanz, and a band of about a dozen merchants were travelling about England (probably SE) at the end of the 13th century. The Robert of White Colne who made the will referred to, used also the alias of "Ratilsdene", spelt by other members of our family as "Rattesden" and "Rattysdene". The Ratllesden family, whose name was probably given to, or taken from the village of that name in Suffolk, was in ancient times, a lawless one, consistently in trouble with the authorities (e.g., Archbishop of Canterbury) for widespread pillage, accompanied by a band of marauders. By about 1500 A.D. they had become respectable and were then described as a knightly family of Colchester; a Thomas Ratylsden being then Abbott ofSt. Edmundsbury. Theory no. 2 is that our ancestor, Robert Gurlevans alias Ratilsdene descended from the family of William de Gurlevanz which became united by marriage with the Rattlesden family. The "de" suggests that the name is geographical and perhaps someone may be able to trace such a place in Flanders.
Jack Gallifant c.1980