A Scottish and Irish surname, Gillespie comes from the Latin term ‘episcopes’ which meant bishop and then the Gaelic term ‘gilleasbuig’ which meant a servant or aid to the bishop. The spelling variations for Gillespie include Gillespay, Gillispey, Gillispie, Gillaspie, Gilaspy, Gillaspey, Gillespee, Gillespie and Gilespy. In England the most with the Gillespie surname live in the northern region, especially in Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham and Northumberland. There are additional Gillespie families along the eastern coast, in the city of London and along the southern coast. In Ireland the first Gillespie families settled in the Donegal area. In Scotland the original regions for the Gillespie families were Aberdeenshire and Dunbartonshire. Over the centuries the Gillespie name has spread to most of the country. The areas with the greatest population are Midlothian, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire. Within the United States the Gillespie family name originated in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Tennessee, Mississippi and Ohio. Famous: John Ross Gillespie (professional field hockey player from New Zealand), Paul Gillespie (professional baseball player), John ‘Dizzy’ Gillespie (bandleader, musician, singer and composer), Gary Gillespie (footballer from Scotland), Bobby Gillespie (musician from Scotland), Brock Gillespie (professional basketball player), Dana Gillespie (English actress and singer), William Gillespie (actor from Scotland) and Ronald James Gillespie (specialist in molecular geometry in Canada).