Robert Ballard Gilliam (1805–1870) was a North Carolina politician and judge. He was born, lived and died in Granville County. He was the son of Leslie Gilliam, the long-time sheriff of Granville. R.B. Gilliam graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1823, in the same class with future state Treasurer , future Chief Justice Richmond M. Pearson, and others. He then began practicing law. Gilliam was also a member of the 1835 convention that thoroughly revised the Constitution of North Carolina.