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The first record of the name Gilliland was found in Midlothian, a county in Southeastern Scotland, and is dated to some time prior to the Norman Conquest of 1066 AD. A mixture of Gaelic and Celt, known as the Strathelyde Britons, the name appears taken from  the Celtic chief Gillander, in the Parish of Walton in the north of Scotland. There are many known variations of the name, including MacGillanders, Gilleland, Gillsland, Gilsland, Gillesland, Gillander, Gillerland, Gilliland, and Gililland.

The territory of the Strathelyde Britons ranged from Laneashire in the south of Scotland to the south bank of the River Clyde in the north of Scotland. Between 400 AD and 900 AD this territory was overrun by the Irish Gaels, the Angles, the Diets, and Diaradians. One branch of the race was in the north and one in the south where Sir Richard Gillesland was head of the branch. Members of this clan held the lands of Kirktown in 1206 and later became involved with the Ross Clan. Many of the Strathelyde families straddled the border between Scotland and England and after 1000 AD life along the border was in turmoil. In 1246, chiefs for the two sides met  and established laws governing the border clans, making it a greater offense to refuse to assist a neighbor than it was to steal from him. In 1603, the English and Scottish Crowns united under King James VI of Scotland (King James I of England). The border clans were banished to England, Northern Scotland, and Ireland. It was from Ireland that our ancestors came to America during the 1700's.

The current spelling (Gililland)appears to have been first used by the brothers John, Mathias, and Robert when they moved from Kentucky to Missouri in the early 1800’s. It is unclear why they changed the spelling from Gilliland to Gililland and many rumors abound. Several generations later (around 1910), Robert Roy Gililland discovered the change and believed it was his father, John Sanford Gililland, who had changed the spelling in order to enlist in the Civil War. This belief is the source of one of the more interesting tales of the changing of the spelling, but it is only one of many. Nonetheless, Robert declared that the name should be returned to its original spelling of Gilliland and convinced two of his brothers, James K. and Walter W. to join him. Two of Roy’s brothers were deceased at the time (Edgar Allen and John Porter) and their descendants continue to use the Gililland spelling. The remaining surviving brother, Almer Lee, chose to continue with the Gililland spelling.