Gill
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a diminutive of the male given names Giles, Julian, and William, of medieval usage. * 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.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Gill (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Few babies have been given the name since 1998; it belongs mostly to older generations. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 398 | 18 |
| 2000 | 393 | 18 |
| 2001 | 389 | 18 |
| 2002 | 386 | 18 |
| 2003 | 388 | 18 |
| 2004 | 386 | 18 |
| 2005 | 385 | 19 |
| 2006 | 382 | 19 |
| 2007 | 380 | 19 |
| 2008 | 374 | 19 |
| 2009 | 373 | 15 |
| 2010 | 370 | 14 |
| 2011 | 368 | 14 |
| 2012 | 365 | 14 |
| 2013 | 365 | 13 |
| 2014 | 362 | 13 |
| 2015 | 358 | 14 |
| 2016 | 357 | 14 |
| 2017 | 354 | 13 |
| 2018 | 354 | 12 |
| 2019 | 349 | 11 |
| 2020 | 347 | 10 |
Gill in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Gill.Hi! My name is Gill.
- Gill ringde och sa att hon blir lite sen.Gill called and said she'll be a bit late.
- Jag ska fika med Gill i eftermiddag.I'm having coffee with Gill this afternoon.
- Gills mamma är lärare.Gill's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Gills mamma is Gill's mum.
More names
Questions about Gill
How do you pronounce Gill in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Gill in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Gill mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a diminutive of the male given names Giles, Julian, and William, of medieval usage. * 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.
How popular is Gill in Sweden?
Fewer than two babies of either sex were named Gill in 2022. In 2020, 357 people in Sweden had Gill as the first name they go by.
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.