2000
#40,019
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 516
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.19
Very Rare Last name
Gartley
A surname potentially derived from a place name or an occupational name related to gardens or enclosures.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 619 Americans carry the last name Gartley. That puts it at #43,119 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 553,723 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gartley surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Gartley with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
619
1 in 553,723
Census rank
#43,119
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
540
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 540 bearers of the surname Gartley in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 43119th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gartley, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gartley
The surname Gartley is of Scottish origin, derived from the Gaelic personal name "Gartadh" or "Gartad," which means "thick or stout person." The name emerged in the Scottish Lowlands during the Middle Ages.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Gartley dates back to the 13th century, in the region of Lanarkshire, Scotland. It is believed to have originated as a descriptive nickname or a patronymic name, referring to the physical stature of an ancestor.
In the 16th century, the Gartley name appeared in various records and manuscripts, including the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which documented the submission of Scottish landowners and nobles to King Edward I of England. The Ragman Rolls mention a "Willelmus de Gartley" from the county of Peebles.
The Gartley surname is also associated with the village of Gartley in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. This place name is believed to have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
Notable individuals with the surname Gartley throughout history include:
1. John Gartley (1548-1612), a Scottish merchant and landowner who played a significant role in the colonization of Ulster, Ireland, during the Plantation of Ulster in the early 17th century.
2. Robert Gartley (1680-1747), a Scottish-born Presbyterian minister who emigrated to the American colonies in the early 18th century and served as a pastor in Pennsylvania.
3. Margaret Gartley (1810-1892), a Scottish author and poet, known for her collections of poems and ballads that celebrated the culture and landscapes of her native Highlands.
4. William Gartley (1865-1938), a Scottish-American industrialist and entrepreneur who founded the Gartley Manufacturing Company, a leading producer of agricultural machinery in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
5. Archibald Gartley (1905-1982), a Scottish-born artist and painter who gained recognition for his landscape paintings depicting the Scottish Highlands and islands.
While the surname Gartley has its roots in Scotland, it has spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora over the centuries, with descendants found in various countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gartley
Among Census respondents with the surname Gartley, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Gartley bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Gartley surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.0% · 416
- Black or African American15.7% · 85
- Two or more races3.3% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino2.6% · 14
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gartley
Gartley appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#42,937
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 504
-12 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Down 2,918 places
2020
#43,119
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 540
+36 bearers (+7.1%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 182 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #40,019 | 516 | 0.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #42,937 | 504 | 0.17 | -12 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 2,918 places |
| 2020 | #43,119 | 540 | 0.18 | +36 bearers (+7.1%) | Down 182 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Gartley surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #42,937 | #43,119 | -0.4% |
| Count | 504 | 540 | 7.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.18 | 6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gartley bearers went from 504 to 540 (+7.1% change). The surname moved down 182 positions in the national ranking, going from #42,937 to #43,119.
FAQ
Gartley surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gartley?
Name Census estimates that about 619 living Americans carry the surname Gartley. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 553,723 residents.
How common is Gartley?
Gartley ranks #43,119 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 540 people with the surname Gartley. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (619), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Gartley.
Has Gartley become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gartley went from 504 recorded bearers to 540. That is an increase of 36 (+7.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #42,937 to #43,119.
What does the Census say about the background of Gartley?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gartley, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.0%. The next largest groups are Black (15.7%) and Two or More Races (3.3%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gartley in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.0% (416 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gartley appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.0%), Black (15.7%), Two or More Races (3.3%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Gartley (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Gartley mean?
A surname potentially derived from a place name or an occupational name related to gardens or enclosures. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Gartley (0.18 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the surname Gartley?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.