Given name & surname
Gilly
“a servant”·“one who is youthful”·“of the bright pledge; a hostage”
In English use, Gilly is an affectionate form of Gill. One interpretation is “a servant.” In English use, Gilly is a diminutive of Gillian. One Latin interpretation is “one who is youthful.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Gilly is an affectionate form of Gill. One interpretation is “a servant.” In English use, Gilly is a diminutive of Gillian. One Latin interpretation is “one who is youthful.” Gilly is a variant of Gilberta. In German use, Gilberta carries the interpretation “of the bright pledge; a hostage.”
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In English use, Gilly is used as an affectionate form of Gill.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 2018. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Gilly through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 6
- 0 boys · 6 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 6 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 girls is 6 in 2018. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 155 as a first name in 2020; 691 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.
Gilly’s family of names
In English usage, Gilly is a diminutive of Gillian. Gilly has a related form in Gill. Gilly is an affectionate form of Gillian.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
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 1
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Gilly
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Gilly, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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