Contents [hide]

Gillon History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Citations

Gillon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Ireland

Early Origins of the Gillon family

The surname Gillon was first found in Yorkshire at either Gilling East or Gilling West, two villages that both date back to the Domesday Book of 1086. Gilling West is thought to be older as there are records of it Saxon times as Ingetlingum. 1

Gilling Abbey, a medieval Anglo-Saxon monastery is generally thought to have been located there, but some historians believe that it was located in Gilling East. The abbey was founded by Queen Eanflæd, the wife of King Oswiu of Northumbria (c. 612-670.)

"This is a place of great antiquity, and remarkable as the scene of the murder of Oswy, King of Deira, by his host, Oswin of Bernicia; in expiation of which crime, a monastery was founded on the spot by Queen Eanfleda; but not the slightest vestige of it can now be traced. Gilling Castle, situated in a fine park on the west of the village, was built by Alan, Earl of Richmond, to repel the frequent attacks of the Saxons and Danes for the recovery of their lost estates. " 2

Again, both villages are listed in the Domesday Book of 1086 but with slightly different spellings: Ghellinge (Gilling East); and Ghellinges (Gilling West.) At that time, the lands of Gilling, were held by Count Alan. Literally, the place name means "settlement of the family or followers of a man called Gythla or Getla," from the Old English personal name + "-ingas." 1

One of the first records of the name as a surname was Grim de Gilling who was listed in the Pipe Rolls for Yorkshire in 1198. A few years later, Gericus de Gilling was listed in the Curia Regis Rolls for Yorkshire in 1208 and later, John de Gilling was listed there in 1306. 3

Early History of the Gillon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gillon research. Another 87 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1273, 1354, 1662, 1712 and 1725 are included under the topic Early Gillon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gillon Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gilling, Gillings, Jilling, Jillings, Gillions, Gillion, Gellion, Jelling, Jellings, Gillian and many more.

Early Notables of the Gillon family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Isaac Gilling (1662?-1725), English Presbyterian minister, elder son of Richard Gilling, baker, born at Stogumber, Somersetshire. "Gilling, who was a scholarly and genial divine, kept a flourishing boarding-school at Newton Abbot, and got into...
Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gillon Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gillon Ranking

In the United States, the name Gillon is the 16,531^st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 4 However, in France, the name Gillon is ranked the 7,273^rd most popular surname with an estimated 1,000 - 1,500 people with that name. 5

Gillon migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gillon Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Patrick Gillon, who landed in Virginia in 1705 6
Peter Gillon, who arrived in Virginia in 1719 6

Gillon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Gillon, aged 50, who landed in New York in 1812 6
John Gillon, aged 32, who arrived in New York in 1812 6

Gillon migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gillon Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century

William Gillon, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1828

Gillon migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Gillon Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Mr. John Gillon, Irish soldier who was convicted in Antrim, Ireland for life, transported aboard the "Fergusson" on 16th November 1828, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 7
Miss Margaret Gillon, (Reilly, McCabe, Mary), Scottish Convict who was convicted in Glasgow, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Atwick" on 28 September 1837, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 8
Mr. James Gillon, Scottish convict who was convicted in Edinburgh, Scotland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Eden" on 12th March 1842, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Island) 9
William Gillon, aged 36, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "Phoebe Dunbar" 10

Gillon migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Gillon Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Mrs. Gillon, British settler travelling from London with 4 children aboard the ship "Maori" arriving in Otago, South Island, New Zealand via Nelson and Wellington on 1st March 1852 11
Mr. Thomas Gillon, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Dinapore" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 5th August 1857 11
Robert Gillon, aged 56, a gardener, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rooparell" in 1874
Rachel Gillon, aged 35, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rooparell" in 1874
Robert W. Gillon, aged 10, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Rooparell" in 1874
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Gillon (post 1700) +

Alexander Gillon (1741-1794), American merchant, seaman and politician who represented South Carolina (1793 and 1794)
Alexander Gillon (1741-1794), American politician, Representative from South Carolina 2nd District, 1793-94 12
Edward Thomas Gillon (1842-1896), New Zealand journalist and newspaper editor
Jean Gillon (1919-2007), Brazilian furniture designer
Robert Paul Raymond Gillon (1884-1972), Belgian lawyer and liberal politician
Paul Gillon (1926-2011), French comics artist
Karen Gillon (b. 1967), Scottish Labour politician, Member of the Scottish Parliament for Clydesdale (1999 to 2011)
Grant Gillon (d. 2002), New Zealand politician, Member of Parliament

Citations +

Mills, A.D., Dictionary of English Place-Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-19-869156-4)
Lewis, Samuel, A Topographical Dictionary of England. Institute of Historical Research, 1848, Print.
Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 4th October 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fergusson
Convict Records of Australia. Retreived 23rd August 2020 from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/atwick
Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 15th December 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/eden
South Australian Register Tuesday 3 February 1852. (Retrieved 2010, November 5) PHOEBE DUNBAR 1852. Retrieved http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/australia/phoebedunbar1852.shtml
New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html