Show ContentsGilland History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Gilland surname is a reduced Anglicized form of the Irish Gaelic Mac Gille Fhaoláin, which means "son of the servant of St Faolán." While the name may have originated in Ireland, this line was extant by the beginning of the 17th century, only to find many of the family to return to Ireland about 100 years later with the Plantation of Ulster.

Early Origins of the Gilland family

The surname Gilland was first found in Midlothian, where Gilbert McGillelane or McGillolane was listed as captain of Clan Connan of Galloway during the reign of David II (1324-1371). Also during this time, Ingeram M'Gillelan held a lease of lands in the barony of Redcastle in 1372. 1

Early History of the Gilland family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gilland research. Another 89 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1206, 1667, 1731, 1735, 1847, 1864 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Gilland History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gilland Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Gilleland, Gillieland, Gillsland, Gilsland, Gillesland, Gillerlaine, Gillerland, Gillisland, Gillan, Gillander, Gilander, MacGillanders and many more.

Early Notables of the Gilland family

Another 27 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gilland Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gilland Ranking

In the United States, the name Gilland is the 16,151st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 2

Ireland Migration of the Gilland family to Ireland

Some of the Gilland family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 127 words (9 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.


United States Gilland migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Gilland Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • William Gilland, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1796 3
  • Philip Gilland, who landed in America in 1797 3
Gilland Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Gilland, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1808 3
  • Robert Gilland, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1817 3

Contemporary Notables of the name Gilland (post 1700) +

  • Brigadier-General Morris Williams Gilland (1898-1985), American Deputy Commanding Officer Engineer Center, Fort Belvoir, Virginia (1947-1948) 4
  • D. A. Gilland, American politician, Mayor of Altoona, Pennsylvania, 1874-78; Member of Pennsylvania State House of Representatives from Blair County, 1879-80 5


  1. Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
  2. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  3. 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)
  4. Generals of World War II. (Retrieved 2012, March 5) Morris Gilland. Retrieved from http://generals.dk/general/Gilland/Morris_Williams/USA.html
  5. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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