Dhillon
A Punjabi Sikh surname and clan name, widely used as a family name in North India and the diaspora.
The #6,346 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 57,484 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Dhillon is a Punjabi surname associated with a Jat clan name. In South Asian naming practice, such surnames often began as lineage or kin-group identifiers rather than occupational labels. The deeper linguistic history is not fully certain from surname evidence alone, but the name is generally treated as an inherited clan designation from the Punjab region.
History
Dhillon is especially common among Punjabi Sikhs and other Punjabis, and it spread more widely through migration from Punjab to the UK, North America, and elsewhere. In modern use it functions primarily as a hereditary surname, though it still signals regional and community identity for many families. Like many Punjabi clan names, it has been carried into global diaspora communities with several spellings and transliterations.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
In diaspora records, Dhillon is sometimes simplified or misspelled as Dillon, even though the surnames have different origins.