2000
#102,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 162
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Gaven
A surname possibly derived from the Welsh name "Gavin" meaning "hawk" or "white hawk".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 204 Americans carry the last name Gaven. That puts it at #106,589 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,680,168 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gaven 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 Gaven with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
204
1 in 1,680,168
Census rank
#106,589
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
178
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 178 bearers of the surname Gaven in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 106589th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaven, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.2%) and Black (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gaven
The surname Gaven is believed to have originated in Scotland, with its roots traceable back to the 16th century. It is thought to be a variation of the Gaelic name Gobhan, which means "smith" or "blacksmith." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this name may have been involved in metalworking trades.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gaven can be found in the Scottish parish records of Lanarkshire, where a John Gaven was mentioned in the year 1609. It is possible that the name was initially derived from a place name, such as Govan, a town located in the Glasgow area.
In the 17th century, the surname Gaven appeared in various Scottish records, including birth, marriage, and death registers. Notable individuals from this era include William Gaven, a merchant born in Edinburgh in 1645, and Margaret Gaven, who was married in Aberdeenshire in 1672.
As the centuries progressed, the Gaven family dispersed throughout Scotland and beyond. In the 18th century, James Gaven, a Scottish soldier born in 1712, served in the British Army during the American Revolutionary War. Another notable figure was Robert Gaven, a Scottish poet and writer who lived from 1765 to 1821.
In the 19th century, the Gaven surname gained further recognition with individuals like Sir John Gaven, a prominent Scottish industrialist and philanthropist (1810-1892), and Mary Gaven, an author and educator born in 1832 in Glasgow.
As the 20th century dawned, the name continued to be carried by notable individuals, such as William Gaven (1895-1967), a Scottish artist known for his landscape paintings, and John Gaven (1901-1978), a Scottish journalist and editor who worked for various newspapers in Glasgow.
Throughout history, the surname Gaven has been associated with various professions, including metalworking, trade, military service, literature, and the arts. While its origins can be traced back to Scotland, the name has since spread to other parts of the world, though its deep-rooted Scottish heritage remains a significant part of its legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gaven
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaven, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.2%) and Black (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Gaven 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 Gaven surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.3% · 150
- Two or more races6.2% · 11
- Black or African American4.5% · 8
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gaven
Gaven 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
#109,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 161
-1 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 7,067 places
2020
#106,589
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 178
+17 bearers (+10.6%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Up 3,169 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #102,691 | 162 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #109,758 | 161 | 0.05 | -1 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 7,067 places |
| 2020 | #106,589 | 178 | 0.06 | +17 bearers (+10.6%) | Up 3,169 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 Gaven 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 | #109,758 | #106,589 | 2.9% |
| Count | 161 | 178 | 10.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.06 | 19.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gaven bearers went from 161 to 178 (+10.6% change). The surname moved up 3,169 positions in the national ranking, going from #109,758 to #106,589.
FAQ
Gaven surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gaven?
Name Census estimates that about 204 living Americans carry the surname Gaven. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,680,168 residents.
How common is Gaven?
Gaven ranks #106,589 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 178 people with the surname Gaven. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (204), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Gaven.
Has Gaven become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gaven went from 161 recorded bearers to 178. That is an increase of 17 (+10.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #109,758 to #106,589.
What does the Census say about the background of Gaven?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaven, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (6.2%) and Black (4.5%). 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 Gaven in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.3% (150 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gaven appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.3%), Two or More Races (6.2%), Black (4.5%). 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 Gaven (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 Gaven mean?
A surname possibly derived from the Welsh name "Gavin" meaning "hawk" or "white hawk". 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 Gaven (0.06 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 Gaven?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Gaven, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.