Explore the Family Name Gilani

The meaning of Gilani

Iranian, Pakistani, and Indian: from Persian Gīlāni, a habitational name for someone from Gilan, a province of Iran. Compare Jilani. History: The most notable bearer of this name was Abdul Qadir Gilani, a celebrated Sufi preacher and scholar (1077–1166 AD), widely revered by Sufis in the Indian subcontinent.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Gilani in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Gilani has gained popularity between 2000 and 2010. Previously ranked 35,522 in 2000, it moved up to 25,356 by 2010, which is a significant increase of 28.62%. The total count of individuals with this surname also increased from 599 to 976 during this period, marking a growth rate of 62.94%. Additionally, the proportion of people named Gilani per 100,000 people increased by 50% from 0.22 to 0.33.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#35,522	#25,356	28.62%
Count	599	976	62.94%
Proportion per 100k	0.22	0.33	50%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Gilani

As for ethnic identity, the Decennial U.S. Census data reveals that a majority of individuals with the surname Gilani identified themselves as Asian/Pacific Islander in both 2000 and 2010. This group saw an increase of 13.70%, going from 64.61% to 73.46%. The next largest group, those identifying as White, decreased by nearly 26%, falling from 21.87% to 16.19%. Individuals identifying as having two or more races also saw a decline of 31.84%, reducing their representation from 10.52% to 7.17%. The percentage of Hispanic individuals remained relatively stable with a minor decrease of 0.37%. The Black, American Indian, and Alaskan Native groups had no representation in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
Asian/Pacific Islander	64.61%	73.46%	13.7%
White	21.87%	16.19%	-25.97%
Two or More Races	10.52%	7.17%	-31.84%
Hispanic	2.67%	2.66%	-0.37%
Black	0%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%