Show ContentsGilleland History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The Gilleland 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 Gilleland family

The surname Gilleland 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 Gilleland family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gilleland 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 Gilleland History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gilleland 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 Gilleland family

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

Gilleland Ranking

In the United States, the name Gilleland is the 10,629th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. [2]

Ireland Migration of the Gilleland family to Ireland

Some of the Gilleland 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.

Migration of the Gilleland family

Some of the first settlers of this family name or some of its variants were: C. Gillanders who settled in Baltimore in 1822; John Gilliland settled in New England in 1685; James Gilliland arrived in Philadelphia in 1843.


Contemporary Notables of the name Gilleland (post 1700) +

  • Terrill R. Gilleland Jr (b. 1977), American politician, Member of the Maryland House of Delegates (2003-2007)
  • Richard Gilleland, American politician, Member of New York State Assembly from New York County 23rd District, 1897 [3]
  • Michelle Gilleland, American Republican politician, Alternate Delegate to Republican National Convention from Colorado, 2012 [3]
  • John E. Gilleland, American Republican politician, Delegate to Republican National Convention from Missouri, 1908 [3]
  • J. L. Gilleland, American politician, Member of Texas State House of Representatives 4th District, 1887-88 [3]


  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. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, December 10) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html


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