How common is the surname Gillespie?

42,693 people in the United States had the surname Gillespie in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,232 Americans. It ranked 811th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Gillespie?

Dizzy Gillespie, American jazz trumpeter (1917–1993), followed by Craig Gillespie.

Where is the surname Gillespie most common?

Wikidata records people named Gillespie in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.

How do you pronounce Gillespie?

Gillespie is /ɡɪˈlɛspi/, 3 syllables.

Is the surname Gillespie getting more or less common?

More common. 41,393 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 42,693 in 2010, up 3.1%.

What are other spellings of Gillespie?

Archibald, Clasby, Gillespey and Gillaspy.

The surname Gillespie

A Scottish occupational surname, carried by 42,693 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ɡɪˈlɛspi/ 3 syllables Soundex G421

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Gillespie is more common than 99.5% of them.

Origin

Scottish origin

Anglicization of Scottish Gaelic Gilleasbuig and Irish Giolla Easpaig, both meaning "servant of the bishop", with the second element of the names being derived from Latin episcopus.

Gillespie is an occupational surname: named after the work an ancestor did.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 42,693 people named Gillespie in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 7,232 Americans. That is up 3.1% since 2000, when the Census counted 41,393.

#811

rank among US surnames

42,693

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+3.1%

change since 2000 (was #758)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#802	Hendricks	43,197	7,147
#803	Calhoun	43,180	7,150
#804	Sexton	43,133	7,158
#805	Chung	43,110	7,162
#806	Gentry	43,027	7,176
#807	Hull	43,018	7,177
#808	Duarte	42,983	7,183

Who is named Gillespie

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

81% of people named Gillespie identified as white (not Hispanic), 14% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 81%
Black (not Hispanic) 14%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.3%
Two or more races 1.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.5%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Gillespies

9 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Dizzy Gillespie
American jazz trumpeter (1917–1993)
Craig Gillespie
Australian film director, born 1967
Dana Gillespie
British actress, singer and songwriter, born 1949
Collin Gillespie
American basketball player (born 1999)
Jason Gillespie
Australian cricketer, born 1975
Aaron Gillespie
American musician, born 1983
Gregor Gillespie
American collegiate wrestler and mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, born 1987
Ed Gillespie
American political strategist, born 1961
Cravon Gillespie
American sprinter, born 1996

Notable Gillespies come mostly from the United States (6), Australia (2) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Archibald
Clasby
Gillespey
Gillaspy

Surnames that sound like Gillespie

Gillespie has the Soundex code G421, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G421.

Questions

Where does the surname Gillespie come from?: Anglicization of Scottish Gaelic Gilleasbuig and Irish Giolla Easpaig, both meaning "servant of the bishop", with the second element of the names being derived from Latin episcopus.
How common is the surname Gillespie?: 42,693 people in the United States had the surname Gillespie in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,232 Americans. It ranked 811th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Gillespie?: In the 2010 Census, 81% of people named Gillespie identified as white (not Hispanic), and 14% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Gillespie?: Dizzy Gillespie, American jazz trumpeter (1917–1993), followed by Craig Gillespie.
Where is the surname Gillespie most common?: Wikidata records people named Gillespie in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom.
How do you pronounce Gillespie?: Gillespie is /ɡɪˈlɛspi/, 3 syllables.
What type of surname is Gillespie?: Gillespie is an occupational surname, named after the work an ancestor did.
Is the surname Gillespie getting more or less common?: More common. 41,393 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 42,693 in 2010, up 3.1%.
What are other spellings of Gillespie?: Archibald, Clasby, Gillespey and Gillaspy.