Gillispie
A Scottish and Irish surname that likely developed as a spelling variant of Gillespie, meaning “servant of St. Cessair” or “servant of the bishop.”
The #6,995 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 64,443 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Gillispie is best understood as a spelling variant of Gillespie, a Gaelic surname built from the elements "gille" meaning "servant" or "devotee" and a saint's name or title in the second part. In traditional explanations, it is often linked to "gille easbuig," meaning "servant of the bishop," though some older interpretations connect it with a saint’s name. The form Gillispie reflects the same Gaelic base filtered through English spelling habits.
History
The surname is associated especially with Scotland and also appears in Ireland, where it was often carried by families of Scottish origin or by Gaelic-speaking families adopting anglicized spellings. The cited historical note places Gillispie alongside several related spellings, showing that the name circulated in multiple written forms. In modern records, Gillispie is usually treated as a variant of Gillespie rather than a separate origin.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Because early clerks spelled Gaelic names phonetically, one family could appear under several near-identical forms in the same century.
From the historical record
“Gillaspy. Gillesby. 214. Gillispie. Glashby. 13. Glaspy. 407. GiLLIGAN. [Galligan]”
— Varieties and Synonymes of Surnames and Christian Names in Ireland