Find out how popular the last name Gilani is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Gilani.

Gilani, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Gilani surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gilani in America

Gilani is the 25356th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gilani surname appeared 976 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Gilani.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gilani to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Gilani

The surname GILANI is of Persian origin and can be traced back to the 7th century. It is derived from the ancient Persian word "Gilan," which refers to the region of Gilan located in northern Iran, along the Caspian Sea. The GILANI surname was initially used to identify individuals who hailed from this region.

During the Islamic Golden Age, between the 8th and 13th centuries, the name GILANI gained prominence as several notable scholars and poets bore this surname. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the works of the renowned Persian poet and mystic, Farid al-Din Attar, who lived from 1145 to 1221.

The GILANI surname is mentioned in various historical manuscripts and chronicles from the medieval period, including the "Tazkirat al-Shu'ara" (Memoirs of Poets) by Dawlatshah Samarqandi, written in the 15th century. This work contains references to several poets with the GILANI surname, indicating the widespread use of the name during that era.

In the 13th century, a prominent Sufi mystic and poet, Baha al-Din Gilani, gained significant recognition for his spiritual teachings and literary works. He was born in Gilan in 1188 and passed away in 1258. His influence and writings have left a lasting impact on Sufism and Persian literature.

Another notable figure bearing the GILANI surname was Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani, a renowned Sufi saint who lived from 1077 to 1166. He was born in the village of Naif, near the Persian city of Gīlān, and is revered as the founder of the Qadiri Sufi order, which has a significant following across the Middle East and South Asia.

In the 16th century, Mirza Muhammad Gilani, a Persian poet and calligrapher, gained recognition for his exceptional calligraphic skills and poetic works. He was born in Gilan in 1516 and passed away in 1574.

Over the centuries, the GILANI surname has been associated with various place names and spellings, such as Gilani, Gīlānī, Gīlānī, and Gīlānī, reflecting the regional variations and linguistic influences of the areas where individuals bearing this surname resided.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gilani

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Gilani.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Gilani was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Gilani has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Gilani was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gilani, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!