2000
#11,671
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,463
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.91
Rare Last name
Gaunt
Derived from a nickname referring to a thin or haggard appearance.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,719 Americans carry the last name Gaunt. That puts it at #12,483 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 126,059 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gaunt 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 Gaunt with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 126,059
Census rank
#12,483
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,371 bearers of the surname Gaunt in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12483rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gaunt
The surname Gaunt originated in England, likely derived from the Old French word "gant" or "gante," meaning "thin" or "slender." It emerged as a descriptive nickname for a thin or slender person during the Middle Ages when surnames were first adopted.
The name Gaunt can be traced back to the 11th century and is found in various historical records, including the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants in England following the Norman Conquest. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Robert Gaunt, who held lands in Lincolnshire in the late 11th century.
The Gaunt surname is also associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the most prominent was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (1340-1399), the fourth son of King Edward III of England. He played a significant role in the political and military affairs of England during the late 14th century.
Another notable bearer of the name was Elizabeth Woodville Gaunt (c. 1437-1492), who was the wife of Edward IV, King of England. She was a member of the House of Woodville and played an influential role in the Wars of the Roses.
In the 17th century, John Gaunt (1592-1672) was an English Puritan clergyman and a member of the Westminster Assembly, which played a crucial role in the English Civil War and the establishment of Presbyterianism in England.
The name Gaunt has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Gaunts Earthcott in Somerset and Gaunts Common in Dorset. These place names likely derived from the surname itself, reflecting the presence of families bearing the name in those areas.
Other notable individuals with the surname Gaunt include Thomas Gaunt (c. 1555-1595), an English Catholic martyr executed during the reign of Elizabeth I, and Humphrey Gaunt (c. 1557-1629), an English Catholic priest and writer.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gaunt
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Gaunt 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 Gaunt surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.2% · 2,114
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 92
- Two or more races3.6% · 85
- Black or African American2.4% · 56
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gaunt
Gaunt 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
#11,993
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,604
+141 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 322 places
2020
#12,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,371
-233 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 490 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,671 | 2,463 | 0.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,993 | 2,604 | 0.88 | +141 bearers (+5.7%) | Down 322 places |
| 2020 | #12,483 | 2,371 | 0.79 | -233 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 490 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 Gaunt 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 | #11,993 | #12,483 | -4.1% |
| Count | 2,604 | 2,371 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.79 | -9.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gaunt bearers went from 2,604 to 2,371 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 490 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,993 to #12,483.
FAQ
Gaunt surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gaunt?
Name Census estimates that about 2,719 living Americans carry the surname Gaunt. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 126,059 residents.
How common is Gaunt?
Gaunt ranks #12,483 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,371 people with the surname Gaunt. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,719), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Gaunt.
Has Gaunt become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gaunt went from 2,604 recorded bearers to 2,371. That is a decrease of 233 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,993 to #12,483.
What does the Census say about the background of Gaunt?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaunt, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Gaunt in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.2% (2,114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gaunt appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.2%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Gaunt (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 Gaunt mean?
Derived from a nickname referring to a thin or haggard appearance. 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 Gaunt (0.79 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 common is the surname Gaunt?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Gaunt on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.