Dillon (surname)

The Dillon motto: Dum Spiro, Spero (While I breathe, I hope)

Dillon is a family name of Irish origin but with Breton-Norman roots. It is first recorded in Ireland with the arrival of Sir Henry de Leon (c.1176 - 1244), of a cadet branch of Viscounty of Léon, Brittany. He arrived in Ireland accompanying Prince John (later King John) of England. The name evolved into the Irish language "Diolun" / English language "Dillon" (not to be confused with the Welsh given name Dylan). It is particularly common in the Meath and Westmeath counties of Ireland where the Dillon's were granted vast areas of land. The name is now widespread throughout Ireland. The Dillon family later became the Barons Clonbrock.

Dillon is the family name of the following individuals:

• Andrew Dillon (born 1954), Chief Executive of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence
• Arthur Dillon (1670–1733), an Irish-born soldier in the French army
• Arthur Dillon (1750–1794), French-Irish soldier, grandson of Arthur Dillon (1670–1733)
• Arthur Dillon (1834–1922), French cavalry officer and Boulangiste, grandson of Arthur Dillon (1750–1794)
• Austin Dillon (born 1990), American NASCAR driver
• Msgr. Arthur Richard Dillon (1721–1807), French-Irish archbishop of Toulouse and Narbonne, son of Arthur Dillon (1670–1733)
• Bernard Dillon (died 1922), Irish jockey
• Brian Dillon (1830–ca. 1872), Irish Republican leader
• Sir Brian Dillon, a British judge.
• C. Douglas Dillon (1909–2003), 57th United States Secretary of the Treasury
• Cara Dillon (born 1975), folk singer from Northern Ireland; sister of Mary Dillon
• Chris Dillon (born 1965), North Carolina attorney and judge
• Clarence Dillon (1882–1979), American businessman from San Antonio, Texas; father of C. Douglas Dillon
• Corey Dillon (born 1974), American football running back for the New England Patriots National Football League|NFL franchise
• Costa Dillon (born 1953), American writer and actor
• David Dillon, CEO and chairman of Kroger
• Denis E. Dillon, District Attorney of Nassau County, New York, from 1973 to 2005
• E. J. Dillon (Emile Joseph Dillon, 1854–1933), author and journalist; Russian correspondent of The Daily Telegraph from 1887 to 1914; professor of Comparative Philology at the National University of Kharkiv
• George Dillon (poet), one of the lovers of Edna St. Vincent Millay
• George Dillon, eponymous fictional character from Epitaph for George Dillon by John Osborne
• Hugh Dillon (born 1963), Canadian musician and actor
• J.J. Dillon, American wrestler and manager
• Jack Dillon, member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame
• Sir James Dillon (officer) (Confederate Ireland officer)
• James Dillon (composer) (born 1950), Scottish composer
• James Dillon (Fine Gael politician) (1902–1986), Irish politician and leader of Fine Gael from 1959 to 1965
• Jerome Dillon, professional musician, best known for his tenure as drummer with the industrial group Nine Inch Nails from 1999 to 2005
• John Dillon (1851–1927), Irish nationalist Member of Parliament and leader of the Irish Parliamentary Party
• John A. Dillon, Jr. (1923–2005), American physicist
• John Blake Dillon (1814–1866), a founding member of the Young Ireland movement
• John Forrest Dillon (1831–1914), American jurist who served on federal and Iowa state courts
• John Francis Dillon (commissioner) (1866–1927), one of the first members of the US Federal Radio Commission
• John Francis Dillon (director) (1884–1934), American film director and actor of the silent era
• Joseph E. Dillon, mayor of Saint Paul, Minnesota, from 1954 to 1960
• Julie Dillon (born 1982), American SFF award-winning illustrator
• Kevin Dillon (born 1965), American actor; younger brother of actor Matt Dillon
• Lawrence Dillon (born 1959), American composer
• Leo and Diane Dillon, husband and wife artists, known for their illustrations for children's books
• Mary Dillon (born 1965), folk singer from Northern Ireland and sister of Cara Dillon
• Martin Dillon, author and journalist from Belfast, Northern Ireland
• Matt Dillon (born 1964), American actor
• Matt Dillon (computer scientist) (born 1967), best known for his work on the FreeBSD and DragonFly BSD projects
• Mave Dillon, former member of the UK-based band Chumbawamba
• Melinda Dillon (born 1939), American actress
• Mervyn Dillon (born 1974), West Indian cricketer
• Michelle Dillon (born 1973), British triathlete
• Mike Dillon (racing driver) (born 1965), American NASCAR driver; father of Austin and Ty Dillon
• Myles Dillon (1900–1972), senior professor in the School of Celtic Studies at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies
• Pa Dillon (1938–2013), Irish hurler
• Peter Dillon (1788–1847), sandalwood trader, self-proclaimed explorer, raconteur, and discoverer of the fate of the La Pérouse expedition
• Richard C. Dillon, governor of New Mexico from 1927 to 1931
• Robert Sherwood Dillon (born 1929), U.S. diplomat; ambassador to Lebanon 1983 to 1984
• Ron Dillon, Jr. (born 1975), American politician
• Seán Dillon, Irish professional footballer
• Sidney Dillon, president of the Union Pacific Railroad (1874–1884)
• Steve Dillon, English comic book artist
• Thomas Dillon, American serial killer
• Ty Dillon (born 1992), American NASCAR driver
• William Dillon (1877–1966), American songwriter and vaudevillian