Gilfillan Surname
Approximately 4,696 people bear this surname
Gilfillan Surname Definition:
In Gaelic Gille Fhaoldin, 'servant of (S.) Fillan.' O'Clery's Glossary under Faolsays ".i. cu allaidh, no mac tire" that is, savage hound or wolf, and Stokes in his glossarial index to the Felire of Aengus has Fael, s. wolf, whence the diminutive Faelan Foelan.
Read More About This SurnameGilfillan Surname Distribution Map
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 1,753 | 1:206,765 | 20,264 |
| Scotland | 989 | 1:5,413 | 906 |
| England | 595 | 1:93,644 | 10,027 |
| South Africa | 520 | 1:104,188 | 12,601 |
| Australia | 344 | 1:78,476 | 9,152 |
| Canada | 275 | 1:133,984 | 13,895 |
| Northern Ireland | 74 | 1:24,933 | 2,784 |
| New Zealand | 65 | 1:69,667 | 10,483 |
| Ireland | 12 | 1:392,412 | 15,634 |
| Denmark | 9 | 1:627,191 | 36,734 |
| Wales | 9 | 1:343,837 | 18,086 |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | 7 | 1:7,886 | 671 |
| Thailand | 7 | 1:10,091,192 | 512,203 |
| Gibraltar | 6 | 1:5,659 | 991 |
| Qatar | 6 | 1:393,000 | 55,922 |
| Norway | 4 | 1:1,285,572 | 69,185 |
| China | 3 | 1:455,773,855 | 21,925 |
| Netherlands | 2 | 1:8,443,588 | 136,641 |
| Italy | 2 | 1:30,578,344 | 160,757 |
| Greece | 2 | 1:5,539,895 | 129,142 |
| Spain | 2 | 1:23,376,018 | 128,922 |
| Guam | 1 | 1:160,121 | 4,893 |
| Germany | 1 | 1:80,505,459 | 560,955 |
| Switzerland | 1 | 1:8,212,915 | 156,297 |
| Singapore | 1 | 1:5,507,703 | 47,049 |
| Moldova | 1 | 1:3,561,368 | 78,271 |
| Malaysia | 1 | 1:29,494,225 | 409,885 |
| Madagascar | 1 | 1:23,649,837 | 9,420 |
| Libya | 1 | 1:6,243,974 | 6,186 |
| Kazakhstan | 1 | 1:17,682,496 | 204,010 |
| Japan | 1 | 1:127,844,293 | 73,547 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ireland | 133 | 1:33,307 | 3,251 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 506 | 1:7,398 | 1,037 |
| England | 76 | 1:320,729 | 21,086 |
| Place | Incidence | Frequency | Rank in Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | 349 | 1:143,893 | 13,487 |
Gilfillan Surname Meaning
From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history
In Gaelic Gille Fhaoldin, 'servant of (S.) Fillan.' O'Clery's Glossary under Faolsays ".i. cu allaidh, no mac tire" that is, savage hound or wolf, and Stokes in his glossarial index to the Felire of Aengus has Fael, s. wolf, whence the diminutive Faelan Foelan. Several individuals bearing this name appear in Scots records in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. In the last quarter of the twelfth century Gillefali Kelde (i.e. a Culdee) witnessed a grant by Turpin, bishop of Brechin, of a toft of Strukatherach to the Abbey of Arnbroath (RAA I, p. 50; REB., II, 270). Gillefalyn held land in Lauderdale, c. 1213—14 (Kelso, 201—203). Gilfelan Mac Guostuf witnessed a charter by Maldoune, 3d earl of Levenax, 1217 (Lennox, II, p. 401), and about 1213—14 Gilfalyn possessed part of Vlfkelystun, now Oxton, in Lauderdale (Kelso, p. 203). Gillefalyn was one of the assize to determine the right marches of Westere Fedale in 1246 (LAC., p. 27), and Gillifelan, dean of Kintyre, is in record a. 1250 (RMS., II, 3136). Gilfolan Kerd (i.e. 'Caird'), a mariner in the service of Alexander de Argadia, was with others arrested at Bristol on suspicion of piracy in 1275 (Bain, II, 55). Gille Folan le Rous of Stirlingshire rendered homage for his lands, 1296. His seal bears a boar's head and S' Gilefevle le Rous (Bain, II, p. 205,556). Gilfolan was park keeper (parcarius) at Cardross, 1329 (ER., I, p. 130), Cilfulan or Gilfulain Habrahamson ('son of Abraham') was banished from Perth in 1471 (ER., VIII, p. 56), and Gilfelan M'Allan was One of a number accused of slaughter at Stirling assizes in 1477. Ewin Gilfillane who had a respite in 1516 for slaughter committed by him (RSS., I, 2780) may be the Ewin Gilfillane who was killed by Donald Androsone in Bordland of Ruslie in the following year (ibid., 2875). Gillefillane M'Laurane was a witness in Glenurquhay, 1559 (BBT., p. 203), and Gillephillane McIlvayne in Ballivoir was fined for resetting a member of Clan Gregor, 1613 (RPC., XIV, p. 638). James Gilfillan, chief justice of Minnesota, was either born in Scotland or was of Scots parentage. Gilphillan and Gillphillan 1686.
“Servant of Fillan” in Gaelic. Fillan was a Scottish saint.
User-submitted Reference
This surname derives from the Scottish surname Gil Fillan, meaning 'devotee of St. Fillan', from the word gil, meaning 'devotee'. They were part of the Mac Nab clan and wore MacNab tartan. Mac Nab means 'son of the abbot', abbot in this case being St. Fillan.
- dmgilfilenGilfillan Demographics
Average Gilfillan Salary in
United States
$48,362 USD
Per year
Average Salary in
United States
$43,149 USD
Per year
View the highest/lowest earning families in The United States
Gilfillan Last Name Facts
Where Does The Last Name Gilfillan Come From? nationality or country of origin
Gilfillan is found most frequently in The United States. It may be found in the variant forms:. For other possible spellings of this name click here.
How Common Is The Last Name Gilfillan? popularity and diffusion
The last name is the 100,561st most widely held family name on a worldwide basis It is held by approximately 1 in 1,551,862 people. This surname is predominantly found in The Americas, where 43 percent of Gilfillan live; 43 percent live in North America and 43 percent live in Anglo-North America.
It is most commonly occurring in The United States, where it is held by 1,753 people, or 1 in 206,765. In The United States it is mostly found in: California, where 12 percent reside, South Carolina, where 8 percent reside and Illinois, where 8 percent reside. Not including The United States this last name occurs in 30 countries. It is also common in Scotland, where 21 percent reside and England, where 13 percent reside.
Gilfillan Family Population Trend historical fluctuation
The incidence of Gilfillan has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people carrying the Gilfillan last name expanded 502 percent between 1880 and 2014; in Scotland it expanded 195 percent between 1881 and 2014; in England it expanded 783 percent between 1881 and 2014 and in Ireland it decreased 91 percent between 1901 and 2014.
Gilfillan Last Name Statistics demography
The religious adherence of those carrying the Gilfillan last name is principally Presbyterian (70%) in Ireland.
In The United States Gilfillan are 7.11% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 53.88% being registered with the political party.
The amount Gilfillan earn in different countries varies greatly. In Norway they earn 13.54% less than the national average, earning 299,216 kr per year; in South Africa they earn 46.7% more than the national average, earning R 348,624 per year; in United States they earn 12.08% more than the national average, earning $48,362 USD per year and in Canada they earn 1.14% more than the national average, earning $50,250 CAD per year.
Phonetically Similar Names
| Surname | Similarity | Worldwide Incidence | Prevalency |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gilfillian | 95 | 392 | / |
| Gillfillan | 95 | 173 | / |
| Gilfillean | 95 | 4 | / |
| Gilfilland | 95 | 0 | / |
| Gillfillian | 90 | 32 | / |
| O'Gilfillan | 90 | 1 | / |
| Gilfellan | 89 | 54 | / |
| Gilfillam | 89 | 1 | / |
| Gelfillan | 89 | 0 | / |
| Gillfellan | 84 | 1 | / |
| Gillfillam | 84 | 0 | / |
| Gilphillian | 80 | 1 | / |
| Gellfillian | 80 | 0 | / |
| Gilfellon | 78 | 45 | / |
| Ilfland | 75 | 1 | / |
| Gilflam | 75 | 1 | / |
| Gillfellon | 74 | 2 | / |
| Gelfellain | 74 | 0 | / |
| Gelfland | 71 | 2 | / |
| Gillflam | 71 | 0 | / |
| Elflain | 63 | 35 | / |
| Elfland | 63 | 27 | / |
| Elflane | 63 | 4 | / |
| Helfland | 59 | 0 | / |
| Elflein | 50 | 1,316 | / |
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Footnotes
- Surnames are taken as the first part of an person's inherited family name, caste, clan name or in some cases patronymic
- Descriptions may contain details on the name's etymology, origin, ethnicity and history. They are largely reproduced from 3rd party sources; diligence is advised on accepting their validity - more information
- Name distribution statistics are generated from a global database of over 4 billion people - more information
- Heatmap: Dark red means there is a higher occurrence of the name, transitioning to light yellow signifies a progressively lower occurrence. Clicking on selected countries will show mapping at a regional level
- Rank: Name are ranked by incidence using the ordinal ranking method; the name that occurs the most is assigned a rank of 1; name that occur less frequently receive an incremented rank; if two or more name occur the same number of times they are assigned the same rank and successive rank is incremented by the total preceeding names
- Ethnic group cannot necessarily be determined by geographic occurrence
- Similar: Names listed in the "Similar" section are phonetically similar and may not have any relation to Gilfillan
- To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on FamilySearch, MyHeritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis