2000
#6,674
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,666
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.73
Rare Last name
Gaspard
A French surname derived from the Persian name Jasper, meaning "treasurer" or "master of the treasure."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,768 Americans carry the last name Gaspard. That puts it at #6,488 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,423 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gaspard 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.
Bearers in the US
5.8K
1 in 59,423
Census rank
#6,488
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,030 bearers of the surname Gaspard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6488th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaspard, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gaspard
The surname Gaspard is of French origin and can be traced back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the French personal name Gaspard, which itself comes from the Persian word "Gaspar" meaning "treasurer". This name was one of the traditional names given to one of the Three Wise Men or Magi in the Bible.
Gaspard was a relatively common surname in medieval France, particularly in the regions of Normandy, Brittany, and Burgundy. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a Gaspard de Grentemesnil who held lands in Leicestershire, England.
In the 13th century, there are records of a knight named Gaspard de Champlitte who fought in the Crusades and participated in the siege of Acre in 1191. Another notable bearer of the name was Gaspard de Coligny (1519-1572), a prominent French Huguenot leader during the French Wars of Religion.
During the Renaissance period, the Gaspard surname was associated with several notable artists and intellectuals. One such figure was Pierre Gaspard Dughet (1615-1675), a French Baroque landscape painter also known as Gaspard Poussin. Another was Gaspard Monge (1746-1818), a French mathematician and inventor of descriptive geometry.
In the 19th century, Gaspard Coriolis (1792-1843) was a French mathematician and scientist best known for his work on the Coriolis effect, a deflection of objects caused by the Earth's rotation. Another famous Gaspard was Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (1820-1910), better known as Nadar, a French photographer, caricaturist, and balloonist.
While the surname Gaspard is still found today, particularly in France and other French-speaking regions, its prevalence has diminished over time compared to its heyday in medieval and Renaissance France.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gaspard
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaspard, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Gaspard 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 Gaspard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.0% · 3,571
- Black or African American21.4% · 1,076
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 170
- Two or more races3.3% · 168
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gaspard
Gaspard 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
#6,427
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,285
+619 bearers (+13.3%)
Per 100,000 1.79
Rank movement Up 247 places
2020
#6,488
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,030
-255 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.68
Rank movement Down 61 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,674 | 4,666 | 1.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,427 | 5,285 | 1.79 | +619 bearers (+13.3%) | Up 247 places |
| 2020 | #6,488 | 5,030 | 1.68 | -255 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 61 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 Gaspard 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 | #6,427 | #6,488 | -0.9% |
| Count | 5,285 | 5,030 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.79 | 1.68 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gaspard bearers went from 5,285 to 5,030 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 61 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,427 to #6,488.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Gaspard
FAQ
Gaspard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gaspard?
Name Census estimates that about 5,768 living Americans carry the surname Gaspard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,423 residents.
How common is Gaspard?
Gaspard ranks #6,488 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,030 people with the surname Gaspard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,768), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Gaspard.
Has Gaspard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gaspard went from 5,285 recorded bearers to 5,030. That is a decrease of 255 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,427 to #6,488.
What does the Census say about the background of Gaspard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaspard, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.4%) and Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Gaspard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.0% (3,571 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gaspard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.0%), Black (21.4%), Hispanic (3.4%). 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 Gaspard (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 Gaspard mean?
A French surname derived from the Persian name Jasper, meaning "treasurer" or "master of the treasure." 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 Gaspard (1.68 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 Gaspard?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.