Gilson surname: U.S. census count, rank and records | FamilyCrests

The Gilson surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 7,271 people carried this name — #4,846 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 40,700 people counted. That is up 1% from 7,197 in 2000.

See Gilson on the map Look up another surname

Share

Where the name comes from

The origin of the Gilson surname

From Giles + -son.

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

In Belgium’s population register

At least 2,532 people named Gilson live in Belgium.

Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Namur.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Namur 750
Liège 739
Hainaut 332
Luxembourg Province 230
Walloon Brabant 200
Brussels-Capital 159
Flemish Brabant 71
East Flanders 21

Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.

In France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 699 people named Gilson.

61 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 42 départements, most often Paris.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they were born

Born outside France 61
Paris 99
Meurthe-et-Moselle 76
Meuse 73
Marne 59
Ardennes 56
Pas-de-Calais 37
Nord 33
Haute-Marne 29

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In print

Gilson in American newspapers,
1908–1911.

Newspaper page from The Birmingham Age-herald carrying the name Gilson
The Birmingham Age-herald 1908-06-21
Newspaper page from Evening Star carrying the name Gilson
Evening Star 1908-06-21
Newspaper page from The Washington Herald carrying the name Gilson
The Washington Herald 1911-08-20

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 55,522 pages in all carry the name.

Who carried it

People named Gilson,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Helen L. Gilson
    Helen L. Gilson 1836–1868 · nurse
  • Helen L. Gilson
    Helen L. Gilson 1836–1868 · nurse
  • Emma Gilson Wallace
    Emma Gilson Wallace 1841–1911 · philanthropist
  • Franklin L. Gilson
    Franklin L. Gilson 1846–1892 · judge
  • Henri Gilson d. 1902 · composer
  • Jean-Henri Gilson 1741–1809 · lay brother

Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Gilson.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Gilson 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 what a volume holds
Scroll to Top