Gillum History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England

The name Gillum was brought to England in the great wave of migration following the Norman Conquest of 1066. It comes from the Old French given name Guillaume. The name Guillaume was modified into two forms after arriving in England: Gillham and William.

Early Origins of the Gillum family

The surname Gillum was first found in Suffolk where Giliana was listed in the Feet of Fines in 1198. 1 Many of the family stayed in Normandy as in the same year, Udon Galien was listed there. 2 Due the prevalence to the often personal name, the name was scattered in early censuses as show by the Rotuli Hundredorum of 1279 which listed Gilianus de Levekenore Buckinghamshire and Adam filius Jellion in Cheshire. 1

Years later the Yorkshire Poll Tax Rolls of 1379 listed the name as both a personal name and a surname: Petnis Gillam; Willelmus Giliam; Giliaum Spyser, 1379; and Ricardus Gillumman, i.e. the servant of Gillura. 3

Early History of the Gillum family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Gillum research. Another 95 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1276, 1283, 1379, 1524, 1636, 1665, 1682, 1690, 1699 and 1701 are included under the topic Early Gillum History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gillum Spelling Variations

Anglo-Norman names are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. When the Normans became the ruling people of England in the 11th century, they introduced a new language into a society where the main languages of Old and later Middle English had no definite spelling rules. These languages were more often spoken than written, so they blended freely with one another. Contributing to this mixing of tongues was the fact that medieval scribes spelled words according to sound, ensuring that a person's name would appear differently in nearly every document in which it was recorded. The name has been spelled Gillham, Gillam, Gilliam, Gilham, Gillem, Gillum, Giliam, Gwillam, Gwillham, Gwilliam, Gwilham, Gyllham, Gylham and many more.

Early Notables of the Gillum family

Outstanding amongst the family at this time was Zachariah Gillam (Guillam) (1636-1682) American sea captain involved in the early days of the Hudson's Bay Company. Benjamin Gillam, American sea captain, brother of Zachariah, who in 1665 commanded the Charles which brought Radisson and Groseilliers to England where they began the foundation of the Hudson's Bay Company; and James Gilliam, also known as James Kelly, (died 1701), an English pirate active in...
Another 70 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Gillum Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Gillum Ranking

In the United States, the name Gillum is the 4,901^st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 4

Gillum migration to the United States +

For many English families, the political and religious disarray that plagued their homeland made the frontiers of the New World an attractive prospect. Thousands migrated, aboard cramped disease-ridden ships. They arrived sick, poor, and hungry, but were welcomed in many cases with far greater opportunity than at home in England. Many of these hardy settlers went on to make important contributions to the emerging nations in which they landed. Among early immigrants bearing the name Gillum or a variant listed above were:

Gillum Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Ann Gillum, aged 28, who arrived in America in 1635 5
John Gillum, who landed in Maryland in 1667 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Gillum (post 1700) +

William McKinley Gillum (1904-1966), known as Jazz Gillum, an American blues harmonica player
Gary P. Gillum (b. 1944), American librarian-emeritus of Brigham Young University
Andrew D. Gillum (b. 1979), American city commissioner in Tallahassee, Florida
Vern Gillum, American television director
Andrew Gillum, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from Florida, 2004 6

Citations +

Reaney, P.H and R.M. Wilson, A Dictionary of English Surnames. London: Routledge, 1991. Print. (ISBN 0-415-05737-X)
The Norman People and Their Existing Descendants in the British Dominions and the United States Of America. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing, 1975. Print. (ISBN 0-8063-0636-X)
Bardsley, C.W, A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames: With Special American Instances. Wiltshire: Heraldry Today, 1901. Print. (ISBN 0-900455-44-6)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
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)
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 23) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html