Explore the Family Name Gill
The meaning of Gill
1. English and Scottish: in northern England and Scotland sometimes from Middle English Gille, Old Norse Gilli, which is of Irish (Gaelic) origin (see below), and pronounced with a hard g. As a personal name it is not found after c.1200. 2. English and Scottish: topographic name from Middle English gille ‘deep glen, ravine’ (Old Norse (Norwegian) gil), pronounced with a hard g. The term is found mainly in northwestern England, where Norwegian Vikings settled. 3. English: from a short form of Middle English Gilliam, a borrowing of Guillaume, a Central French form of William (see Gilliam), which is also attested in pet forms such as Gillot and Gilmin (see Gillett, Gilman). This name will have been pronounced with a hard g. 4. English: from the Middle English personal name Gille, a pet form of Gillian, usually a female name but occasionally male. It also gave rise to the surnames Jill, Gell, and Jell, and was pronounced with a soft g, hence the spellings with J-. 5. English: from the Middle English and Old French personal name Gille, a variant of Giles 1. 6. Scottish, Irish, and Manx: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac Gille (Scottish), Mac Giolla (Irish), patronymics from an occupational name for a servant or a short form of the various personal names formed by attaching this element to the name of a saint. See McGill. The Old Norse personal name Gilli is probably of this origin, and may lie behind some examples of the name in northern England. It is also a Manx surname, meaning ‘son of the lad (i.e. servant)’. 7. Scottish and Irish: shortened Anglicized form of Gaelic Mac An Ghoill (see Gall 1). 8. Norwegian: habitational name from any of the three farmsteads in western Norway named Gil, from Old Norse gil ‘ravine’. 9. Dutch: cognate of Giles. 10. Jewish (Israeli): artificial name from Hebrew gil ‘joy’. 11. German: from a vernacular short form of the medieval personal name Aegilius, a later form of Latin Aegidius (see Giles 1). This surname is also found in France (Alsace and Lorraine). 12. Polish and German: variant or a Germanized form of Polish Gil ‘bullfinch’. 13. Indian (Punjab): Sikh name, probably from Punjabi gil ‘moisture’, also meaning ‘prosperity’. There is a Jat tribe that bears this name; the Ramgarhia Sikhs also have a clan called Gill. Some characteristic forenames: Indian Avtar, Amritpal, Darshan, Hardip, Nirmal, Sohan, Ajit, Balwinder, Charan, Jasvir, Kewal, Navdeep.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Gill in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Gill" has remained steady over the past decade, with a slight decline in rank from 430th in 2000 to 435th in 2010. The total count, however, increased by 9.1%, from 68,699 individuals in 2000 to 74,948 in 2010. This indicates that despite a drop in ranking, the actual number of people with this surname has grown. The proportion of the U.S. population with this surname per 100,000 people also saw a minor decrease of -0.24.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #430 | #435 | -1.16% |
| Count | 68,699 | 74,948 | 9.1% |
| Proportion per 100k | 25.47 | 25.41 | -0.24% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Gill
In terms of ethnicity, the data from the Decennial U.S. Census indicates some shifts between 2000 and 2010. The proportion of individuals identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander saw the most significant increase, jumping from 8.35% to 13.43%. Conversely, the percentage of those identifying as White fell slightly from 70.90% to 65.23%. There were also slight increases in those claiming Hispanic and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities, while the percentages of those identifying as Black and of two or more races saw small decreases.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 70.9% | 65.23% | -8% |
| Black | 14.15% | 13.96% | -1.34% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 8.35% | 13.43% | 60.84% |
| Hispanic | 3.79% | 4.74% | 25.07% |
| Two or More Races | 2.28% | 2.06% | -9.65% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.53% | 0.59% | 11.32% |
Gill ancestry composition
23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Gill is British & Irish, which comprises 49.1% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (17.6%) and Northern Indian & Pakistani (10.5%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Scandinavian, Spanish & Portuguese, Italian, and Ashkenazi Jewish.
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| ANCESTRY BREAKDOWN | COMPOSITION |
|---|---|
| British & Irish | 49.1% |
| French & German | 17.6% |
| Northern Indian & Pakistani | 10.5% |
| Other | 22.8% |
Possible origins of the surname Gill
Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.
Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Gill have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.
| RECENT ANCESTRY Location | Percentage |
|---|---|
| Greater London, United Kingdom | 74.60% |
| Merseyside, United Kingdom | 74.50% |
| Greater Manchester, United Kingdom | 74.50% |
| Glasgow City, United Kingdom | 74.40% |
| Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom | 74.20% |
What Gill haplogroups can tell you
Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.
The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Gill is R-P311, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-P311 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include L-M357 and R-CTS241, which are predominantly found among people with Central & South Asian and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Martin, Brown, Miller, Clark, Smith, West, Wilson, Davis, Young, Harrison.
The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Gill surname are: H1, T2b, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.
Paternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette
Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.
What do people with the surname Gill have in common?
Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.
Preferences
Chocolate Ice Cream
Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.
"Gill" Surname 41.7%
23andMe Users 41.3%
Traits
Misophonia
When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.
"Gill" Surname 29.2%
23andMe Users 27.9%
Habits
Sugary Drink
Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.
"Gill" Surname 22.6%
23andMe Users 21.1%
Wellness
Migraine
A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.
"Gill" Surname 18.3%
23andMe Users 16.4%
Are health conditions linked to the last name Gill?
The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.
Disease variant frequency by ancestry
Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Gill are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition