An English and French surname, Gilliam comes from the Old French term ‘guillaume’ The spelling variations for Gilliam include Gilham, Gillum, Giliam, Gylham, Gillem, Gwilliam and Gwhillham. In England the Gilliam family name is scattered across the country. The majority of Gilliam families lived in Surrey, the city of London, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Somerset, Warwickshire, Yorkshire and Lancashire. In Scotland the counties where the majority of Gilliam families live are Midlothian, Lanarkshire, Wigtownshire, Kirkcudbrightshire, Angus and Kincardineshire. Within the United States the Gilliam families started in Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Alabama, Mississippi, New York and Pennsylvania. Famous: John Rally Gilliam (professional football player), Terry Gilliam (English film director, screenwriter and comedy actor), Holly Michelle Gilliam (birth name of singer - Michelle Phillips), Sam Gilliam (artist), James William Gilliam (professional baseball player and coach), Armen Gilliam (professional basketball player), David Gilliam (movie film actor) and Robert “Tich” Gilliam (musician - guitar - from Wales).