Given name & surname
Gilles
“resembling a young goal”
Gilles is a variant of Giles. One Greek interpretation is “resembling a young goal.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Gilles is a variant of Giles. One Greek interpretation is “resembling a young goal.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Gilles is a variant of Giles. Giles has been associated with Late Latin and Greek naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In French use, Gilles is used as a form of GILEs.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1923. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Gilles is a variant of Giles. The history of Giles gives this family its wider story. Giles was in use during the Middle Ages.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Gilles through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 359
- 359 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1928
- 13 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 6 in 2001. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 1,353 as a first name in 2020; 4,147 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.
Gilles’s family of names
In French usage, Gilles has a diminutive in Gilson. Gilles shares a linguistic root with Giles. In French usage, Gilles has a conventional equivalent in the Spanish form Gil.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Gilles has relatives in 20 languages.
23 related names in 20 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 24
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Gilles
- Gilles DeleuzeFrench philosopher (1925–1995)
- Gilles VilleneuveCanadian racing driver (1950–1982)
- Gilles SimonFrench tennis playerborn 1984
- Gilles BinchoisFranco-Flemish Renaissance composer (c. 1400–1460)
- Gilles MüllerLuxembourgian tennis playerborn 1983
- Gilles de RobervalFrench mathematician (*1602 – †1675)
- Gilles LeroyFrench writerborn 1958
- Gilles LelloucheFrench actor, film director and screenwriterborn 1972
- Gilles KepelFrench political scientist and Arabist (born 1955)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Gilles, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Gene
“a wellborn man” · “a wellborn woman”
98% boys · 2% girls
Gilbert
“servant of St BRIDGET” · “of the bright promise”
>99% boys
Garner
“one who gathers or keeps grain”
83% boys · 17% girls
Yates
“keeper of the gates”
>99% boys
Gennaro
“born of Janus”
>99% boys
Odis
Odis is a masculine given name.
>99% boys
Webb
“a weaver”
>99% boys
Gus
“a respected man; one who is exalted”
>99% boys