2000
#6,371
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,920
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.82
Rare Last name
Gillum
A surname of English origin, likely derived from the Old French given name Guillaume, meaning "resolute protection."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,499 Americans carry the last name Gillum. That puts it at #6,756 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 62,330 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gillum surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Gillum with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.5K
1 in 62,330
Census rank
#6,756
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,795 bearers of the surname Gillum in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6756th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gillum, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.3%. The next largest groups are Black (17.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gillum
Among Census respondents with the surname Gillum, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.3%. The next largest groups are Black (17.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Gillum bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Gillum surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White73.3% · 3,515
- Black or African American17.8% · 855
- Two or more races4.8% · 231
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 141
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gillum
Gillum appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,676
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,060
+140 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 1.72
Rank movement Down 305 places
2020
#6,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,795
-265 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 1.60
Rank movement Down 80 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,371 | 4,920 | 1.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,676 | 5,060 | 1.72 | +140 bearers (+2.8%) | Down 305 places |
| 2020 | #6,756 | 4,795 | 1.60 | -265 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 80 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Gillum surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #6,676 | #6,756 | -1.2% |
| Count | 5,060 | 4,795 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 1.72 | 1.60 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gillum bearers went from 5,060 to 4,795 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 80 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,676 to #6,756.
FAQ
Gillum surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gillum?
Name Census estimates that about 5,499 living Americans carry the surname Gillum. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 62,330 residents.
How common is Gillum?
Gillum ranks #6,756 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.60 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,795 people with the surname Gillum. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,499), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.60 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Gillum.
Has Gillum become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gillum went from 5,060 recorded bearers to 4,795. That is a decrease of 265 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,676 to #6,756.
What does the Census say about the background of Gillum?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gillum, the largest self-reported group is White at 73.3%. The next largest groups are Black (17.8%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gillum in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.3% (3,515 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gillum appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (73.3%), Black (17.8%), Two or More Races (4.8%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Gillum (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Gillum mean?
A surname of English origin, likely derived from the Old French given name Guillaume, meaning "resolute protection." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Gillum (1.60 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Gillum?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.