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

Gillum, 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 Gillum surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gillum in America

Gillum is the 6676th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gillum surname appeared 5,060 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Gillum.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gillum 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 Gillum

The surname Gillum is believed to have originated in Scotland during the medieval period. It is derived from the Gaelic personal name "Gille Cam," which means "servant of the crooked one." This name may have referred to someone with a physical deformity or a person who lived near a bend in a river or road.

The earliest recorded instances of the Gillum surname can be found in Scottish records dating back to the 13th century. In 1296, a man named William Gillecam appeared on the Ragman Rolls, which were a series of parchment rolls containing the names of Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England.

The Gillum surname was particularly prevalent in the Scottish Borders region, where it was associated with several notable families and landed gentry. One such family was the Gillums of Gilmerton, near Edinburgh, who can trace their ancestry back to the 15th century.

In the 16th century, the Gillum surname began to spread beyond Scotland, with records showing individuals with this name settling in England and Ireland. One notable bearer of the Gillum name was Sir John Gillum (1565-1638), an English politician and landowner who served as a Member of Parliament for Northamptonshire.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Gillum surname gained a foothold in North America, as Scottish and Irish immigrants brought the name with them to the New World. One of the earliest recorded Gillums in America was John Gillum (1620-1680), who settled in Virginia in the mid-1600s.

Other notable individuals with the Gillum surname throughout history include:

1. William Gillum (1868-1945), an American author and journalist who wrote extensively about the American West.
2. Ethel Gillum (1889-1966), an American educator and civil rights activist who fought for equal education opportunities for African American children.
3. Robert Gillum (1924-2010), an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Gillum Group, a successful construction company.
4. Jessie Gillum (1927-2018), an American baseball player who spent several seasons in the Negro Leagues during the 1940s and 1950s.
5. Andrew Gillum (born 1979), an American politician who served as the Mayor of Tallahassee, Florida, and was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Florida in 2018.

While the Gillum surname has its roots in Scotland and has been carried across the globe by generations of migrants and travelers, it remains a distinct and recognizable name with a rich history and cultural significance.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gillum

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

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

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

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