The Gilliland surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 13,351 people carried this name — #2,698 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 22,100 people counted. That is up 1% from 13,170 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

What the name means

The meaning of the Gilliland surname

Reduced Anglicized form of Scottish Gaelic Mac Gille Fhaoláin and Irish Mac Giolla Fhaoláin (“son of the servant of (saint) Faolán”), a personal name thought to be a diminutive of Irish faol (“wolf”).

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Gilliland» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.

In Ireland’s birth registers, 1890

Ireland registered 11 births for the Gilliland name in 1890.

Most were registered in Ulster. By the Registrar-General’s own method — births multiplied by 44.38 — that is about 500 people bearing the name in Ireland at the time. The Registrar-General’s note on the name: “Antrim.”

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born, 1890

Ulster 11

Registrar-General for Ireland, «Special Report on Surnames in Ireland» (R. E. Matheson, 1894), births index of 1890 — public domain.

In Scotland’s registers today

Gilliland was recorded 10 times in Scotland’s registers of births, marriages and deaths in 2025.

That made it the 1929th most common name in those registers, shared with others on the same count. In 1975, the first year of the series, the count was 15. Each birth counts the child’s surname, each marriage both partners’ and each death the surname of the person who died — a yearly count of registrations, not of the people who live in Scotland.

National Records of Scotland, «Most Common Surnames, 2025» (published 26 May 2026): every surname recorded 10 or more times in the 2025 registers, and the series from 1975 · different spellings are counted separately — © Crown copyright 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

In print

Gilliland in American newspapers,
1895–1910.

Newspaper page from The Daily Morning Journal And Courier carrying the name Gilliland
The Daily Morning Journal And Courier 1895-11-22
Newspaper page from The Topeka State Journal carrying the name Gilliland
The Topeka State Journal 1910-09-03
Newspaper page from East Oregonian : E.o carrying the name Gilliland
East Oregonian : E.o 1910-11-09

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 26,017 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Gilliland in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1990s.

1,469 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gilliland. The most, 324, date from the 1940s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.2 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 579
Queensland 540
New South Wales 159
Western Australia 75
South Australia 58
ACT (Canberra) 31
Tasmania 14
Northern Territory 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gilliland.

Who carried it

People named Gilliland,
with a public archive behind them.

  • William Gilliland
    William Gilliland 1734–
  • Maybelle Montgomery Gilliland
    Maybelle Montgomery Gilliland 1906–1971
  • Margaret Latta Gilliland d. 1943
  • Jane Willsborough Gilliland 1766–
  • James Gilliland 1866–1952 · trade unionist
  • James Gilliland 1866–1952 · trade unionist

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Gilliland,
in the records of 6 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States953 records

953 records of the Gilliland name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 517
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 170
  • Other U.S. records 266
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Charles Leon Gilliland

    Born 1933; from Yellville, Arkansas. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1951 in South Korea. Buried at Layton Cemetery, Yellville, Arkansas.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Russell C. Gilliland

    Born 1912 in Iowa. Enlisted 1942 at Los Angeles, California; driver. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1961, buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Robert Gilliland

    Arrived at New York in 1884 aboard the State of Nebraska from Glasgow and Larne, aged 20; grocer. From Belfast, England; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 953 records for Gilliland in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · City of Asheville (public domain, PDDL) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Australia107 records

107 records of the Gilliland name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 47
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 30
  • Other Australian records 30
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Wm H. Gilliland

    Arrived in Victoria in 1852 aboard the Ocean Eagle, aged 42; Canadian.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Edith B. Gilliland

    Matron of Malvern, Victoria; died 1936.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Joseph Gilliland

    Died 1910 in At Sea, At Sea, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 107 records for Gilliland in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada95 records

95 records of the Gilliland name in Canada
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 76
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 6
  • Other Canadian records 13
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Barbara Fay Gilliland

    Buried in 1975 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 37.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record John Gilliland

    Died 1867 in Smith's Cove, Digby, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record John Gilliland

    Died in service in 1918.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.

Showing 3 of 95 records for Gilliland in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. · City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

United Kingdom11 records

11 records of the Gilliland name in the United Kingdom
  • War Office casualty lists, 1917–1919, among the dead 6
  • Stirling Council burial records 5
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Samuel Gilliland

    Died 1956, aged 95; buried at Balfron Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
  2. A First World War roll of honour of the staff of C. & E. Morton Ltd
    Example: roll of honour, 1914–1919
    War record S. Gilliland

    Devonshire Regiment. Listed among the dead in the War Office casualty list of 1917.

    National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain)
  3. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record Elizabeth Gilliland

    Died 1970, aged 65; buried at Balfron Cemetery, Stirling, Scotland.

    Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Showing 3 of 11 records for Gilliland in the United Kingdom.

Counts: National Library of Scotland, War Office Weekly Casualty Lists (public domain) · Stirling Council. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0); C. & E. Morton Ltd roll of honour, 1914–1919, photo by Adrian S Pye via Geograph (CC BY-SA 2.0).

New Zealand1 record

1 record of the Gilliland name in New Zealand Christchurch City cemetery records
  1. A page of the burial register of Newtown, Wales, 1858
    Example: burial register, 1858
    Burial record William Gilliland

    Died 1917, aged 33; buried at Sydenham Cemetery, Christchurch, Canterbury.

    Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Christchurch City Council (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Burial register of Newtown, Montgomeryshire, 1858, National Library of Wales (CC0).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Gilliland name in the Netherlands Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths)
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Robert Montgomery Gilliland

    Married in 1946 in Eindhoven.

    Open Archives, Brabants Historisch Informatie Centrum (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Gilliland.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Gilliland is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Gilliland volume
Scroll to Top