2000
#18,645
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,362
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.50
Rare Last name
Gayheart
A locational surname originating from a place name meaning "the gay or happy heart".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,607 Americans carry the last name Gayheart. That puts it at #19,328 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 213,288 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gayheart 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
1.6K
1 in 213,288
Census rank
#19,328
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,401 bearers of the surname Gayheart in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 19328th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gayheart, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gayheart
The surname Gayheart is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "gæc" meaning "cuckoo" and "heort" meaning "heart." The name likely referred to someone who had a light-hearted or joyful personality, much like the cheerful song of a cuckoo bird.
In the 13th century, variations of the name, such as "Gayherte" and "Gayhart," appeared in historical records from various counties in England, including Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which listed a Thomas Gayherte as a landowner in the village of Boxted, Essex.
During the 14th century, the name Gayheart began to spread across other regions of England. The Pipe Rolls of 1349 mentioned a John Gayhert from Lincolnshire, while the Subsidy Rolls of 1381 recorded a William Gayheart living in Yorkshire.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondences written by members of the influential Paston family. One letter, dated 1472, referred to a man named Robert Gayheart, who was involved in a legal dispute over land ownership.
Notable individuals with the surname Gayheart throughout history include:
1. Sir William Gayheart (c. 1520 - 1585), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Arundel during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
2. Robert Gayheart (c. 1595 - 1665), a Puritan minister and author who emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635.
3. Mary Gayheart (1633 - 1717), an accused witch during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, though she was eventually acquitted of all charges.
4. Captain John Gayheart (1745 - 1823), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.
5. Elizabeth Gayheart (1785 - 1860), a pioneer and one of the first settlers in the Oregon Territory, arriving with her family in 1846 along the famous Oregon Trail.
While the surname Gayheart has its roots in medieval England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through emigration to the American colonies and other English-speaking nations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gayheart
Among Census respondents with the surname Gayheart, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Gayheart 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 Gayheart surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.5% · 1,324
- Two or more races3.5% · 49
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gayheart
Gayheart 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
#18,867
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,449
+87 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Down 222 places
2020
#19,328
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,401
-48 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Down 461 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,645 | 1,362 | 0.50 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,867 | 1,449 | 0.49 | +87 bearers (+6.4%) | Down 222 places |
| 2020 | #19,328 | 1,401 | 0.47 | -48 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 461 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 Gayheart 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 | #18,867 | #19,328 | -2.4% |
| Count | 1,449 | 1,401 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.49 | 0.47 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gayheart bearers went from 1,449 to 1,401 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 461 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,867 to #19,328.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Gayheart
FAQ
Gayheart surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gayheart?
Name Census estimates that about 1,607 living Americans carry the surname Gayheart. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 213,288 residents.
How common is Gayheart?
Gayheart ranks #19,328 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.47 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 1,401 people with the surname Gayheart. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,607), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.47 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 Gayheart.
Has Gayheart become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gayheart went from 1,449 recorded bearers to 1,401. That is a decrease of 48 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #18,867 to #19,328.
What does the Census say about the background of Gayheart?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gayheart, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Gayheart in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.5% (1,324 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gayheart appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.5%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (1.6%). 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 Gayheart (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 Gayheart mean?
A locational surname originating from a place name meaning "the gay or happy heart". 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 Gayheart (0.47 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 Gayheart?
Want to know how many people are called Gayheart? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.