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

Gilmour, 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 Gilmour surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gilmour in America

Gilmour is the 11926th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gilmour surname appeared 2,625 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Gilmour.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gilmour 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 Gilmour

The surname Gilmour originated in Scotland during the medieval period. It is derived from the Gaelic words 'gil' meaning 'bright' and 'muir' meaning 'sea'. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a bright or shimmering sea or lake.

The earliest recorded mention of the name dates back to the 13th century in the county of Perthshire, Scotland. An Adam Gilmour is found in the records of Inchmahome Priory in 1263. The name is also found in various charters and rolls from that era, with spellings like Gillemore, Gilmor, and Gilmoure.

In 1296, a Richard de Gilmour from Lanarkshire swore fealty to King Edward I of England. This is one of the earliest references to the name in connection with a specific location.

The Gilmours were a prominent family in the parish of Lochwinnoch, Renfrewshire, where they held lands as early as the 15th century. Sir John Gilmour (c. 1605-1671) was a Scottish writer and supporter of the Royalist cause during the English Civil War.

Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Charles Gilmour (1838-1923), a Scottish businessman and Member of Parliament who served as Lord Provost of Glasgow from 1904 to 1909.

In the field of arts and culture, the painter and printmaker John Gilmour (1917-2002) was a respected figure in the Scottish art world. The musician and songwriter David Gilmour (born 1946), best known as the guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Pink Floyd, is perhaps the most famous bearer of the Gilmour name today.

Other notable Gilmours include Andrew Gilmour (1828-1901), a Scottish-Australian pastoralist and politician, and Sir John Gilmour (1876-1940), a British civil servant and politician who served as Secretary of State for Scotland from 1924 to 1929.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gilmour

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

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

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

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