2000
#974
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,672
First available Census row
Per 100,000 12.11
Uncommon Last name
Gay
An English and French surname derived from a nickname for a lighthearted or cheerful person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 34,262 Americans carry the last name Gay. That puts it at #1,153 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,004 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gay 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 Gay with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
34K
1 in 10,004
Census rank
#1,153
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
30K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,878 bearers of the surname Gay in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1153rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gay, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gay
The surname Gay originated from the Old French word "gai", meaning joyful or cheerful. It is believed to have been first used as a nickname for someone with a cheerful or light-hearted demeanor. The name is thought to have its roots in Normandy, France, and was likely brought to England after the Norman Conquest in 1066.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gay can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it was spelled as "Gai". This historic manuscript, commissioned by William the Conqueror, recorded the names of landowners and their properties throughout England.
In the 13th century, the name appeared in various forms, such as "Gaye", "Gaye", and "Gai", in various records and documents. One notable example is the mention of a John le Gai in the Curia Regis Rolls of 1201, which were records of court proceedings in England.
The surname Gay has also been associated with several place names, including Gay Street in Bath, England, which was named after a prominent local family bearing the name in the 18th century. Another example is the village of Gay in Normandy, France, which may have been the original source of the surname.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals with the surname Gay. One of the earliest was Walter de Gay, a Norman knight who fought alongside William the Conqueror at the Battle of Hastings in 1066.
Another noteworthy figure was John Gay (1685-1732), an English poet and dramatist best known for his work "The Beggar's Opera". His satirical plays and poems were highly influential during the Augustan age of English literature.
In the 19th century, Marie François Arouet, better known as Voltaire (1694-1778), a French Enlightenment writer and philosopher, had a close friend named Marie Arouet, who used the surname Gay.
Later, in the 20th century, Peter Gay (1923-2015) was a renowned American historian and scholar who specialized in the study of the Enlightenment and modern European history.
More recently, Marlon Gay Sr. (born 1938) is a former professional basketball player from the United States who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the American Basketball Association (ABA) during the 1960s and 1970s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gay
Among Census respondents with the surname Gay, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Gay 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 Gay surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.3% · 20,102
- Black or African American21.5% · 6,431
- Two or more races3.8% · 1,129
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 1,072
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 973
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 171
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gay
Gay 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
#1,094
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,025
-647 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 10.86
Rank movement Down 120 places
2020
#1,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,878
-2,147 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 10.00
Rank movement Down 59 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #974 | 32,672 | 12.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,094 | 32,025 | 10.86 | -647 bearers (-2.0%) | Down 120 places |
| 2020 | #1,153 | 29,878 | 10.00 | -2,147 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 59 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 Gay 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 | #1,094 | #1,153 | -5.4% |
| Count | 32,025 | 29,878 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 10.86 | 10.00 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gay bearers went from 32,025 to 29,878 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 59 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,094 to #1,153.
FAQ
Gay surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gay?
Name Census estimates that about 34,262 living Americans carry the surname Gay. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,004 residents.
How common is Gay?
Gay ranks #1,153 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 29,878 people with the surname Gay. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (34,262), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Gay.
Has Gay become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gay went from 32,025 recorded bearers to 29,878. That is a decrease of 2,147 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,094 to #1,153.
What does the Census say about the background of Gay?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gay, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.3%. The next largest groups are Black (21.5%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Gay in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.3% (20,102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gay appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.3%), Black (21.5%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Gay (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 Gay mean?
An English and French surname derived from a nickname for a lighthearted or cheerful person. 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 Gay (10.00 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 are called Gay?
Want to know how many people have the last name Gay? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.