Gillray Surname

14,316,765th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 1 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
United States

Gillray Surname Definition:

Gaelic Gille ruaidh, 'red (haired) lad.' Ewen Gilry witnessed a deed of resignation of lands in the barony of Drumelzier in 1331 (Hay, p. 9). The hero of the well-known ballad (executed 1638) had his name changed in the low country speech to Gilderoy.

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Gillray Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States11:362,458,9331,988,048
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England31:8,125,123158,686
Isle of Man21:27,1351,659

Gillray (10) may also be a first name.

Gillray Surname Meaning

From Where Does The Surname Originate? meaning and history

Gaelic Gille ruaidh, 'red (haired) lad.' Ewen Gilry witnessed a deed of resignation of lands in the barony of Drumelzier in 1331 (Hay, p. 9). The hero of the well-known ballad (executed 1638) had his name changed in the low country speech to Gilderoy. See Macilroy.

The Surnames of Scotland (1946) by George Fraser Black (1866-1948)

Gael. Gille ruadh or roy, i. e. "the red lad." The celebrated Highland freebooter of the XVI. cent., Gilderoy, derived his designation from this source. Arthur says, "Gilleroimh, a running footman attendant on a Highland chieftain; or Gille-righ, the servant of the king." Others make it equivalent to Fitz-Boy-the son of a king. Thus do Gaelic etymologists differ.

Patronymica Britannica (1860) by Mark Antony Lower

A king's servant; from roy, the king.

The Origin and Signification of Scottish Surnames (1862) by Clifford Stanley Sims (1839-1896)

Gile—roimh, a running footman attendant on a Highland chieftain; from gille, a servant, and roimh, before, in respect of situation or place; or Gille—righ, the servant of the king.

An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names (1857) by William Arthur

Gillray Last Name Facts

Where Does The Last Name Gillray Come From? nationality or country of origin

The surname Gillray is borne by more people in The United States than any other country or territory. It can appear as:. Click here to see other potential spellings of this surname.

How Common Is The Last Name Gillray? popularity and diffusion

Gillray is the 14,316,765th most common surname on earth It is held by approximately 1 in 2,147,483,647 people. The last name Gillray is mostly found in The Americas, where 100 percent of Gillray are found; 100 percent are found in North America and 100 percent are found in Anglo-North America. Gillray is also the 3,684,242nd most widely held forename on earth, borne by 10 people.

The last name is most frequently used in The United States, where it is held by 1 people, or 1 in 362,458,933. In The United States Gillray is most common in: Texas, where 100 percent live.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Gilray92438/
Gillroy86194/
Guillry865/
Hillray863/
Gaillry861/
Gillrey860/
Gilra83132/
Gilry8310/
Gllry832/
Gillrath8097/
Guillroy8029/
Gillroye800/
Gilroy7712,276/
Gailra774/
Hilray774/
Guilry773/
Gilrea772/
Gilrey772/
Sillry771/
Uillra771/
Illrey770/
Gilrae770/
Gillre770/
Gelray770/
Hillry770/
Gillreath7534/
Gillreyes752/
Glra733/
Glry731/
Ilry731/
Gillrie71188/
Aillery7187/
Guilroy7111/
Gilrath719/
Chillra713/
Hillroy712/
Hillrey712/
Gilreat711/
Gilraiz711/
Guellry711/
Huillra711/
Gilroyi711/
Gilreah711/
Gilhrry711/
Illrath711/
Gilrhea710/
Guilrey710/
Gellrea710/
Gilread710/
Gellroy710/
Elray67448/
Huillery67405/
Glera67182/
Gilroyed6787/
Gelra6765/
Ilroy6728/
Cilry675/
Ilrae674/
Silra673/
Ilryd672/
Gilreach672/
Ilras672/
Glery672/
Glrey671/
Islra671/
Khillrae671/
Hillrath671/
Hilry671/
Clray671/
Glhra671/
Gilreaph671/
Gilreyes671/
Gilreyth671/
Gilroyee671/
Ghilriya671/
Silry671/
Gillrest671/
Xllry671/
Gillreth670/
Guellroy670/

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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 Gillray
  • To find out more about this surname's family history, lookup records on Family​Search, My​Heritage, FindMyPast and Ancestry. Further information may be obtained by DNA analysis