Jilen History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

• Origins Available:
• Ireland

Etymology of Jilen

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

Early Origins of the Jilen family

Early History of the Jilen family

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

Jilen Spelling Variations

Individual scribes in the Ireland during the Middle Ages would often record a person's name various ways. How the name was recorded depended on what that particular scribe believed the proper spelling for the name pronounced to him was. Spelling variations revealed in the search for the origin of the Jilen family name include Gillan, Gillinan, Gillen, Gillon, Gillfinan, Gillion and many more.

Early Notables of the Jilen family

More information is included under the topic Early Jilen Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Migration of the Jilen family

In the late 18th century, Irish families began emigrating to North America in the search of a plot of land to call their own. This pattern of emigration grew steadily until the 1840s when the Great Potato Famine of the 1840s cause thousands of Irish to flee the death and disease that accompanied the disaster. Those that made it alive to the shores of the United States and British North America (later to become Canada) were, however, instrumental in the development of those two powerful nations. Many of these Irish immigrants proudly bore the name of Jilen: Hugh and Jane Gillan who settled in New York State in 1823; James Gillan settled in New York in 1803; John, Patrick, Thomas and William Gillan settled in Philadelphia between 1840 and 1860.