Given name & surname
Gillis
“resembling a young goal”
Gillis is a form of Giles. One Greek interpretation is “resembling a young goal.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Gillis is a form of Giles. One Greek interpretation is “resembling a young goal.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Gillis is a form of Giles. Giles has been associated with Late Latin and Greek naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1900. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Gillis is a form 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
Gillis through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 712
- 712 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 1923
- 20 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 375 as a first name in 2020; 17,570 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.
Gillis’s family of names
Gillis shares a linguistic root with Giles. In Dutch usage, Gillis has a conventional equivalent in the French form Gilles. Gillis has a related form in Giles.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Gillis has relatives in 3 languages.
4 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Gillis
- Gillis GrafströmSwedish figure skater (1893-1938)
- Gillis van ConinxlooFlemish painter (1544-1607)
- Gillis van TilborghFlemish painter (1625–1678)
- Gillis CoignetFlemish painter (1542-1599)1538–1599
- Gillis d'HondecoeterDutch painter (1575-1638)
- Gillis MostaertFlemish painter (1528-1598)
- Gillis William LongAmerican politician (1923–1985)
- Gillis RomboutsDutch painter (1630-1678)
- Gillis van BerlaymontDutch noble1540–1579
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Gillis, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Willis
“will” · “desire”
>99% boys
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“a renowned warrior”
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Norris
“a man from the north”
>99% boys
Ottis
“a wealthy man” · “one who is acute”
>99% boys
Odis
Odis is a masculine given name.
>99% boys
Arlis
>99% boys
Gerrit
“one who is mighty with a spear”
>99% boys
Gaines
“one who acquires”
>99% boys