How common is the surname Gilliam?

29,414 people in the United States had the surname Gilliam in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,497 Americans. It ranked 1,204th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Gilliam?

Terry Gilliam, American born-British filmmaker, comedian, and actor (born 1940), followed by Seth Gilliam.

Where is the surname Gilliam most common?

Wikidata records people named Gilliam in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Is the surname Gilliam getting more or less common?

More common. 28,075 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 29,414 in 2010, up 4.8%.

The surname Gilliam

A patronymic surname, carried by 29,414 people in the United States.

3 syllables Soundex G450

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Gilliam is more common than 99.3% of them.

Origin

From a medieval variant of the given name William.

Gilliam is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 29,414 people named Gilliam in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 10,497 Americans. That is up 4.8% since 2000, when the Census counted 28,075.

#1,204

rank among US surnames

29,414

people in 2010

10.0

per 100,000 Americans

+4.8%

change since 2000 (was #1,141)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,195	Sutherland	29,585	10,436
#1,196	Kaplan	29,582	10,437
#1,197	McAllister	29,544	10,450
#1,198	Byrne	29,503	10,465
#1,199	Osorio	29,482	10,472
#1,200	Cash	29,476	10,474
#1,201	Haines	29,462	10,479

Who is named Gilliam

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

61% of people named Gilliam identified as white (not Hispanic), 34% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.5% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 61%
Black (not Hispanic) 34%
Two or more races 2.5%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.9%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Gilliams

6 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Terry Gilliam
American born-British filmmaker, comedian, and actor (born 1940)
Seth Gilliam
American actor, born 1968
Armen Gilliam
American basketball player (1964–2011)
Burton Gilliam
American actor, born 1938
Herm Gilliam
American basketball player (1946–2005)
Jude Deveraux
American writer, born 1947

Notable Gilliams come mostly from the United States (5) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Gilliam

Gilliam has the Soundex code G450, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G450.

Questions

Where does the surname Gilliam come from?: From a medieval variant of the given name William.
How common is the surname Gilliam?: 29,414 people in the United States had the surname Gilliam in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,497 Americans. It ranked 1,204th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Gilliam?: In the 2010 Census, 61% of people named Gilliam identified as white (not Hispanic), and 34% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Gilliam?: Terry Gilliam, American born-British filmmaker, comedian, and actor (born 1940), followed by Seth Gilliam.
Where is the surname Gilliam most common?: Wikidata records people named Gilliam in the United States and the United Kingdom.
What type of surname is Gilliam?: Gilliam is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Gilliam getting more or less common?: More common. 28,075 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 29,414 in 2010, up 4.8%.