2000
#11,113
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,621
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.97
Rare Last name
Gilmour
A Scottish habitational surname derived from a place near Stewarton in Ayrshire, likely meaning "big village" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,027 Americans carry the last name Gilmour. That puts it at #11,409 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,232 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gilmour 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 Gilmour with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,232
Census rank
#11,409
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,640 bearers of the surname Gilmour in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11409th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gilmour, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gilmour
Among Census respondents with the surname Gilmour, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Gilmour 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 Gilmour surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.1% · 2,431
- Two or more races3.4% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 84
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 20
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gilmour
Gilmour 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
#11,926
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,625
+4 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 813 places
2020
#11,409
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,640
+15 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Up 517 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,113 | 2,621 | 0.97 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,926 | 2,625 | 0.89 | +4 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 813 places |
| 2020 | #11,409 | 2,640 | 0.88 | +15 bearers (+0.6%) | Up 517 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 Gilmour 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 | #11,926 | #11,409 | 4.3% |
| Count | 2,625 | 2,640 | 0.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.88 | -0.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gilmour bearers went from 2,625 to 2,640 (+0.6% change). The surname moved up 517 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,926 to #11,409.
FAQ
Gilmour surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gilmour?
Name Census estimates that about 3,027 living Americans carry the surname Gilmour. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,232 residents.
How common is Gilmour?
Gilmour ranks #11,409 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,640 people with the surname Gilmour. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,027), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Gilmour.
Has Gilmour become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gilmour went from 2,625 recorded bearers to 2,640. That is an increase of 15 (+0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,926 to #11,409.
What does the Census say about the background of Gilmour?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gilmour, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.1%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.4%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Gilmour in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.1% (2,431 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gilmour appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.1%), Two or More Races (3.4%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Gilmour (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 Gilmour mean?
A Scottish habitational surname derived from a place near Stewarton in Ayrshire, likely meaning "big village" in Gaelic. 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 Gilmour (0.88 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 last name Gilmour?
Find out how common the surname Gilmour is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.