Given name & surname
Gillen
“a determined soldier”·“a servant of St. John”
Gillen has a related form in Gilamu. One Basque interpretation is “a determined soldier.” Gillen is a variant of Gillean. One Irish interpretation is “a servant of St. John.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Gillen has a related form in Gilamu. One Basque interpretation is “a determined soldier.” Gillen is a variant of Gillean. One Irish interpretation is “a servant of St. John.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Gillen has a related form in Gilamu. An origin associated with Gilamu is Basque. Gillen is a variant of Gillean. An origin associated with Gillean is Irish.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1990. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Gillen through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 5
- 5 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1990
- 5 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for boys is 5 in 1990. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 104 as a first name in 2020; 7,793 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Gillen’s family of names
In Basque usage, Gillen has a conventional equivalent in the French form Guillaume. In Basque usage, Gillen has a related form in Gilamu. Gillen has a related form in Gillean.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
Similar names
If you love Gillen, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.