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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

The original Gaelic form of Gillon was Ó Giollain, from the word "giolla," which means "lad." 1

Early Origins of the Gillon family

The surname Gillon was first found in County Donegal (Irish: Dún na nGall), northwest Ireland in the province of Ulster, sometimes referred to as County Tyrconnel, where they held a family seat from ancient times.

Early History of the Gillon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gillon research. Another 59 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gillon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gillon Spelling Variations

Scribes and church officials, lacking today's standardized spelling rules, recorded names by how they were pronounced. This imprecise guide often led to the misleading result of one person's name being recorded under several different spellings. Numerous spelling variations of the surname Gillon are preserved in documents of the family history. The various spellings of the name that were found include Gillan, Gillinan, Gillen, Gillon, Gillfinan, Gillion and many more.

Early Notables of the Gillon family

More information is 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. 2 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. 3

Gillon migration to the United States +

A massive wave of Irish immigrants hit North America during the 19th century. Although many early Irish immigrants made a carefully planned decision to leave left Ireland for the promise of free land, by the 1840s immigrants were fleeing a famine stricken land in desperation. The condition of Ireland during the Great Potato Famine of the late 1840s can be attributed to a rapidly expanding population and English imperial policies. Those Irish families that arrived in North America were essential to its rapid social, industrial, and economic development. Passenger and immigration lists have revealed a number of early Irish immigrants bearing the name Gillon:

Gillon Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Patrick Gillon, who landed in Virginia in 1705 4
Peter Gillon, who arrived in Virginia in 1719 4

Gillon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

James Gillon, aged 50, who landed in New York in 1812 4
John Gillon, aged 32, who arrived in New York in 1812 4

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 5
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) 6
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) 7
William Gillon, aged 36, a labourer, who arrived in South Australia in 1852 aboard the ship "Phoebe Dunbar" 8

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 9
Mr. Thomas Gillon, British settler travelling from Gravesend, UK aboard the ship "Dinapore" arriving in Auckland, New Zealand on 5th August 1857 9
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 10
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 +

MacLysaght, Edward, The Surnames of Ireland. Ireland: Irish Academic Press, sixth edition, 1985. Print. (ISBN 0-7165-2366-3)
"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