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

Gillespie, 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 Gillespie surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gillespie in America

Gillespie is the 136449th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gillespie surname appeared 123 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 Gillespie.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gillespie 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 Gillespie

The surname Gilespie originated in Scotland during the late Middle Ages. It is a variant spelling of the more common Scottish surname Gillespie, derived from the Gaelic personal name "Gilleasbuig". This name is composed of two elements: "gille" meaning "servant" or "lad", and "easbuig" meaning "bishop".

Gilespie is therefore thought to have been an occupational surname, initially referring to someone who served or worked for a bishop. The earliest recorded instances of the name are found in Scottish records and charters from the 13th and 14th centuries, where it appears spelled variously as Gillespec, Gilaspie, Gilaspie, and Gillespie.

One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sir John Gillespie, a Scottish knight who fought alongside Robert the Bruce during the Wars of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. Another notable early Gilespie was Walter Gillespy, a prominent merchant in Aberdeen in the late 15th century.

The Gilespie surname has been associated with several places in Scotland, including the lands of Gilespie in the county of Fife, and the village of Gilespie in East Lothian. Some of the oldest surviving records mentioning the name come from these areas.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, many Gilespies were involved in the religious and political upheavals that swept across Scotland, with some supporting the Protestant Reformation and others remaining loyal to the Catholic Church. One notable figure from this era was John Gilespie, a Presbyterian minister who was executed for his part in the Monmouth Rebellion against King James VII in 1685.

Other historical figures with the Gilespie surname include Thomas Gilespie (1708-1774), a Scottish-American Presbyterian minister and principal founder of the Relief Church; James Gilespie (1736-1805), a Scottish-American merchant and planter in Virginia; and George Gilespie (1683-1737), a Scottish scholar and theologian who wrote extensively in defense of Presbyterianism.

As the centuries passed, bearers of the Gilespie name could be found throughout Scotland and, later, in many parts of the English-speaking world, particularly North America and Australia, following the patterns of Scottish emigration and settlement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gillespie

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

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 Gillespie 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 Gillespie 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 Gillespie was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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