Gilroy Surname

42,444th
Most Common
surname in the World

Approximately 12,276 people bear this surname

Most prevalent in:
United States
Highest density in:
Ireland

Gilroy 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.

Read More About This Surname

Gilroy Surname Distribution Map

PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States5,5631:65,1557,615
England2,2081:25,2353,464
Canada1,3361:27,5793,663
Australia9151:29,5033,965
Ireland7911:5,953920
Scotland6151:8,7051,265
New Zealand2181:20,7723,637
Northern Ireland1471:12,5511,831
Jamaica1301:22,0771,853
Wales671:46,1874,386
South Africa661:820,87455,153
India391:19,668,343291,059
Qatar221:107,18211,536
Israel201:427,88233,464
France191:3,495,933219,029
French Polynesia181:15,6003,086
United Arab Emirates121:763,52325,625
Thailand101:7,063,834426,148
Argentina91:4,749,268159,873
Germany91:8,945,051266,530
Netherlands81:2,110,89788,902
Singapore41:1,376,92628,409
Costa Rica31:1,593,3568,177
Denmark31:1,881,57267,227
Brazil31:71,358,111770,017
Philippines21:50,619,112341,003
Czechia21:5,316,734169,646
Sweden21:4,923,378241,212
Nigeria21:88,571,379625,098
Spain21:23,376,018128,922
South Korea11:51,240,2568,015
Sierra Leone11:7,089,6311,533
Turkey11:77,821,422191,047
Sri Lanka11:20,808,56018,521
Switzerland11:8,212,915156,297
Norway11:5,142,286129,201
Botswana11:2,186,92930,250
United States Virgin Islands11:110,3756,934
Zimbabwe11:15,438,240133,260
Belarus11:9,501,059159,228
Azerbaijan11:9,649,12247,873
Andorra11:83,8382,381
Jersey11:99,2026,620
Dominica11:75,891912
DR Congo11:73,879,570260,543
Finland11:5,496,70284,025
Guatemala11:16,082,66812,169
Guernsey11:64,4392,137
Indonesia11:132,249,194811,426
Iraq11:35,021,65431,813
Italy11:61,156,688199,583
Japan11:127,844,29373,547
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines11:112,6591,704
Kenya11:46,179,900103,372
Lebanon11:5,637,08332,436
Malta11:430,2723,380
Mexico11:124,126,205103,776
Namibia11:2,409,40119,676
Panama11:3,912,25817,195
Poland11:38,008,749231,653
Portugal11:10,418,24125,048
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
Ireland7331:6,043973
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
England7351:33,1644,376
Scotland4991:7,5011,049
PlaceIncidenceFrequencyRank in Area
United States1,2891:38,9594,605

Gilroy (1,294) may also be a first name.

Gilroy 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)

(Celtic) Servant or Disciple of RUADH = the Redhaired [Irish and Gaelic Giolla Ruaidh—giolla, servant, etc. + the genit. of ruadh (dh mute), red]

Surnames of the United Kingdom (1912) by Henry Harrison

Mac Giolla Rua Also anglicized MacElroy and MacIlroy in Ulster and Kilroy in Connacht. IF 134; MIF 258; Map Fer; Plate X

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

Mac Giolla Rua Also anglicized MacElroy and MacIlroy in Ulster and Kilroy in Connacht. IF 134; MIF 258; Map Fer; Plate X

A Guide to Irish Names (1964) by Edward MacLysaght

“Red Servant” in Gaelic. See Macilroy.

South African Surnames (1965) by Eric Rosenthal

(Irish) The son of the red youth.

Dictionary of American Family Names (1956) by Elsdon Coles Smith

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

Gilroy Last Name Facts

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

Gilroy (Arabic: جيلروي, Marathi: िगलरॉय) is more commonly found in The United States than any other country/territory. It can also appear as:. For other possible spellings of this last name click here.

How Common Is The Last Name Gilroy? popularity and diffusion

The last name Gilroy is the 42,444th most common family name on a global scale, held by approximately 1 in 593,642 people. It occurs predominantly in The Americas, where 57 percent of Gilroy reside; 56 percent reside in North America and 56 percent reside in Anglo-North America. It is also the 218,876th most numerous first name at a global level It is held by 1,294 people.

The last name Gilroy is most frequent in The United States, where it is carried by 5,563 people, or 1 in 65,155. In The United States Gilroy is most numerous in: New York, where 15 percent live, Pennsylvania, where 10 percent live and California, where 8 percent live. Beside The United States this surname is found in 60 countries. It is also found in England, where 18 percent live and Canada, where 11 percent live.

Gilroy Family Population Trend historical fluctuation

The occurrence of Gilroy has changed through the years. In The United States the number of people bearing the Gilroy surname rose 432 percent between 1880 and 2014; in England it rose 300 percent between 1881 and 2014; in Ireland it rose 108 percent between 1901 and 2014 and in Scotland it rose 123 percent between 1881 and 2014.

Gilroy Last Name Statistics demography

The religious adherence of those bearing the last name is principally Catholic (95%) in Ireland.

In The United States those bearing the Gilroy surname are 6.44% more likely to be registered Republicans than The US average, with 53.21% registered to vote for the party.

The amount Gilroy earn in different countries varies greatly. In South Africa they earn 97.71% more than the national average, earning R 469,824 per year; in United States they earn 12.93% more than the national average, earning $48,727 USD per year and in Canada they earn 1.23% more than the national average, earning $50,296 CAD per year.

Phonetically Similar Names

SurnameSimilarityWorldwide IncidencePrevalency
Gillroy92194/
Guilroy9211/
Gilroyi921/
Ilroy9128/
Gilry9110/
Gilro911/
Gilroyed8687/
Guillroy8629/
Gilroyee861/
Gillroye860/
Gilray83438/
Gilroi836/
Hilroy834/
Gilrod834/
Guilry833/
Gilrey832/
Gilrou832/
Cilroy831/
Silroy831/
Gilroe831/
Gelroy830/
Gillro830/
Gilrot830/
Ilro803/
Ilry801/
Glry801/
Gillros779/
Guillry775/
Gailroo774/
Hillroy772/
Gillray771/
Gilhrry771/
Guilroo771/
Gaillry771/
Gillrey770/
Guilrey770/
Gellroy770/
Elroy73354/
Gilra73132/
Silro7368/
Glrod739/
Ilrot736/
Cilry735/
Glero734/
Ilros734/
Gllry732/
Glery732/
Ilryd732/
Gelro732/
Hilry731/
Glrey731/
Silry731/
Gillroth712/
Gilreyes711/
Gilreyth711/
Ghilriya711/
Khailroy711/
Guellroy710/
Gelrod6793/
Chilro6773/
Gelrot6768/
Gehlro6747/
Gleryz6729/
Gilree6725/
Cleroy6723/
Gilris6717/
Gilrie6716/
Ellroy6715/
Ailero6710/
Goelro674/
Hilray674/
Gailra674/
Silroj674/
Ailroh674/
Glerou673/
Gillreyes672/
Celroy672/
Hilrey672/
Gilrea672/
Ghelro672/
Hilrou671/
Eilery671/
Elroyo671/
Gelrio671/
Gillrouth671/
Gilred671/
Sillry671/
Khilro671/
Glerot671/
Ailery671/
Elrooy671/
Yilroh671/
Eylroy671/
Gelros671/
Hillry670/
Gilrer670/
Jailro670/
Illrey670/
Silrey670/
Gilrae670/
Gillre670/
Selroy670/
Gelray670/
Ailrey670/

Gilroy Name Transliterations

TransliterationICU LatinPercentage of Incidence
Gilroy in the Marathi language
िगलरॉयigalaroya75.81
िगलॉयigaloya4.84
िगलरोयigalaroya3.23
गीलरॉयgilaroya3.23
िगलेरॉयigaleroya3.23
गीलोयgiloya3.23
गीलर्ोयgilaroya1.61
गीलरोयgilaroya1.61
गीलोरीgilori1.61
Gilroy in the Arabic language
جيلرويjylrwy-

Search for Another Surname

The name statistics are still in development, sign up for information on more maps and data

By signing up to the mailing list you will only receive emails specifically about name reference on Forebears and your information will not be distributed to 3rd parties.

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 Gilroy
  • 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