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

Gillani, 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 Gillani surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gillani in America

Gillani is the 88020th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gillani surname appeared 211 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 Gillani.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gillani 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 Gillani

The surname Gillani is believed to have originated in the Indian subcontinent, specifically in the region now known as Pakistan. The name is derived from the Arabic word "Gilan," which means "the land of rivers" or "the land of plenty." This suggests that the name may have originally been associated with people who lived in fertile, river-rich areas.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gillani can be found in the Ain-i-Akbari, a 16th-century Persian manuscript commissioned by the Mughal Emperor Akbar. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Gillani, indicating that the name was already well-established in the region at that time.

In the 18th century, the Gillani name gained prominence with the rise of the Gillani family, a powerful clan that ruled over parts of present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in Pakistan. Notable figures from this family include Akhund Abdul Ghaffur Gillani (1786-1864), a renowned Islamic scholar and reformer, and Haji Sahib Turangzai Gillani (1786-1863), a renowned Pashtun warrior and tribal leader.

Another historical figure associated with the Gillani surname is Syed Ahmed Shaheed Gillani (1786-1831), a renowned Islamic revivalist and freedom fighter who led a movement against the Sikh Empire in the early 19th century.

In the 20th century, the Gillani name continued to be prominent in Pakistan, with several individuals making significant contributions in various fields. One such individual was Air Marshal Asghar Khan Gillani (1919-2018), a highly decorated Pakistani Air Force officer and a recipient of the Nishan-e-Imtiaz, one of Pakistan's highest civilian honors.

Another notable figure was Dr. Ghulam Ishaq Khan Gillani (1915-2014), a renowned Pakistani statesman who served as the seventh President of Pakistan from 1988 to 1993.

While the Gillani surname is closely associated with Pakistan and the Indian subcontinent, it has also gained recognition in other parts of the world, with individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various fields.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gillani

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

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

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

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