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Gilliland Surname - Its mandatory to know where a person came from and
to know the past history of their family. With the knowledge of a family
past comes the honor of the families future.
The Gilliland clan motto is "Timor omnis abesto" - "Let fear be far from all"
The Gilliland name or MacGill'fhaolain in our gaelic language comes from Scotland and Ireland our true home. The variations of the name Gilliland as follows: MacGill'fhaolain, Mcgill'olane, Macgillelane, Gilliand, Gilleland, Gilland, Gillelan, Gilland, Gillyelan, Gillilan, Gilfilane, Gilfilan, Gilfelain, Gilfilland, There are many diferent spellings, but they all lead back to one spelling Gill'fhaolain, ancient spelling is (Gylfhalan). MacGill'fhaolain means "son of servant". The MacGill'fhaolain clan were followers of a Saint Fillan ( Fhaolain ) . The word Gill in archaic form means royalty ( Of the land ). Note the word Gill and Gille have two different meanings.
The Gilliland or MacGill'fhaolain clan lived in the middle of Scotland which by definition would make our ancestors highlanders. Over the years different lines of the family changed the spelling of their name to make pronunciation simple. Also some families could not spell so it made signing their name less stressful. The Gilliland's have survived many wars and many cultures trying to take or change their ways and customs.
St. Fillan (Fhaolain, Foelan) was the son of St. Kentigerna and Feriach. was also known as Foelan. He became an abbot near St. Andrews in 8th Century Scotland. He retired and built a church at Glendochart in Perthshire. "Source (The Saints, John Coulson, Hawthorne Books, NY) He died on 19 January, 703 A.D. His feast day is January 19. Gille is an ancient Gaelic prefix meaning steward, disciple, follower, or son of. The surnames Gilliland, Gilfillian, Gilleland, McClelland, MacLelland, Leland, Whelan and Phelan all mean disciple of St. Fillan (which means "little wolf.") The root word is Mac-Giolla-Fhaolain (Gaelic). The Gillilands and the MacLellands, along with the MacRaes, were the arms bearers (warriors) for the McKenzie Clan in Rosshire for eight centuries. The name was first anglicized MacGillilan and MacGilliland which is a phonetic approximation to the Irish form.