Show ContentsGilly History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Gilly family

The surname Gilly was first found in Languedoc, where this eminent family held a family seat since ancient times.

Early History of the Gilly family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gilly research. Another 331 words (24 lines of text) covering the years 1146, 1150, 1424, 1462, 1596, 1665, 1668, 1704, 1705, 1733, 1740, 1752, 1785, 1803, 1808 and 1815 are included under the topic Early Gilly History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gilly Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gilly, Gilli, Gilles, La Gilly, Les Gilles, Le Gilly, De Gilly, De Gilli, Le Gilli, Du Gilley, Du Gilli, Des Gilles, Jilly, Jilli, Jilles, De Jilly, De Jilli, Des Jilles, Gillis and many more.

Early Notables of the Gilly family

Notable amongst the family name at this time was

  • Jacques Laurent Gilly, Baron and Count of the Empire


United States Gilly migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gilly Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Carl Gilly, who arrived in New York in 1785 1
Gilly Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Samuel Gilly, who landed in New York in 1835 1

Australia Gilly migration to Australia +

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

Gilly Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Contemporary Notables of the name Gilly (post 1700) +

  • John P. Gilly, American politician, Socialist Labor Candidate for New York State Treasurer, 1916 3
  • John Gilly Jr., American Republican politician, Postmaster at Big Stone Gap, Virginia, 1870-78 3
  • Gordon E. Gilly, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Big Stone Gap, Virginia, 1914-23 3
  • Elkanah Gilly, American Democratic Party politician, Postmaster at Big Stone Gap, Virginia, 1856 3
  • Jacques Laurent Gilly, French Divisional General during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars from 1789 to 1815 4
  • Adolfo Atilio Gilly Malvagni (1928-2023), Mexican historian and author of various books on the history of and politics of Mexico and Latin America, Professor of History and Political Science at the School of Social and Political Sciences at the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City
  • William Stephen Gilly (1789-1855), English divine, born on 28 Jan. 1789, son of William Gilly (d. 1837), rector of Hawkedon, Suffolk, and of Wanstead, Essex 5
  • Gilly Coman (1955-2010), British actress
  • Gilly Flower (1908-2001), English actress best remembered as the elderly Miss Abitha Tibbs in the cult BBC sitcom Fawlty Towers


  1. 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)
  2. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 20th August 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/aurora
  3. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  4. Generals Who Served in the French Army during the Period 1789-1815. (Retrieved 2015, March 6) Jacques Gilly. Retrieved from http://www.napoleon-series.org/research/c_frenchgenerals.html
  5. Wikisource contributors. "Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900." Wikisource . Wikisource , 4 Jun. 2018. Web. 30 June 2020


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