Gill

Where Gill comes from

* As an English surname, converged from variants of Giles (sometimes through Dutch), Julian, and William. * As a northern English surname, from Middle English gil (“ravine, glen”), from Old Norse gil. The Old Norse is also a source of the Norwegian surname. * As an Irish and Scottish Gaelic surname, variant of McGill. * Also as an Irish surname, variant of Gall. * As a Jewish/Israeli given name, as well as surname, from Hebrew גיל (“joy”). * As a German surname, variant of Gilger. * As a Sikh Punjabi surname originating in India, from ਗਿੱਲ (gill, “moisture”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Gill
  • 1 syllable
Along the way
  1. 1884
    Debut at its peak, #971
    #971 among boys with 5 babies — the first year it was published, and still its best.
  2. 1885
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births.
  3. 1949
    Gill Marcus born
    South African banker
  4. 1982
    Gill Swerts born
    Belgian association football player
In the dictionary
  • A diminutive of the male given names Giles, Julian, and William, of medieval usage.
  • A diminutive of the female given name Gillian, variant of Jill.
  • A male given name transferred from the surname, of modern usage.
  • A locale in the United States:
  • An unincorporated community in Weld County, Colorado; named for early landowner William H. Gill.
Namesakes
  • Gill Marcus · South African banker, born 1949
  • Gill Swerts · Belgian association football player, born 1982
  • Gill Deacon · Canadian writer and broadcaster, born 1966
  • Gill Robb Wilson · American pilot, 1892–1966
  • Gill Dennis · American film director and screenwriter, 1941–2015

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.