2000
#741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,357
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.70
Uncommon Last name
Gentry
A surname referring to a person of noble birth, or one who is well-mannered and courteous.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 47,235 Americans carry the last name Gentry. That puts it at #821 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,256 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gentry 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 Gentry with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
47K
1 in 7,256
Census rank
#821
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
41K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 41,191 bearers of the surname Gentry in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 821st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gentry, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gentry
The surname Gentry is of English origin and dates back to the 13th century. It is an occupational name derived from the Old French word "genterie", meaning "nobility" or "high birth". The name was initially given to individuals who were members of the gentry class, which was the class of people just below the nobility in the social hierarchy.
Gentry is a variant spelling of the word "gentry", which was originally used to refer to the landed gentry, a class of landowners who were not part of the nobility but still held a significant amount of wealth and social status. The earliest recorded use of the surname Gentry dates back to the 13th century, with records showing individuals with this name living in various parts of England, particularly in the counties of Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, and Staffordshire.
In the 14th century, the name Gentry appeared in various historical records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were a survey of landholdings in England. One notable individual with the surname Gentry was Sir Robert Gentry, who was born in 1330 and served as a knight during the reign of Edward III.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Gentry continued to be associated with individuals of high social standing. One notable example is Thomas Gentry, who was born in 1555 and served as a Member of Parliament for the borough of Stafford in 1597.
As the years passed, the surname Gentry spread beyond England and became established in other parts of the world, including the United States. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname in America was Samuel Gentry, who was born in Virginia in 1677.
Another notable individual with the surname Gentry was Meredith Poindexter Gentry, who was born in North Carolina in 1809 and served as a lawyer, politician, and brigadier general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War.
In more recent times, the surname Gentry has been carried by several notable individuals, including the American country music singer-songwriter Earl Eugene Gentry, better known by his stage name, Mickey Gilley, who was born in 1936. Additionally, Curt Gentry, an American author and historian who wrote several books on topics such as the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, was born in 1931.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gentry
Among Census respondents with the surname Gentry, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Gentry 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 Gentry surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.1% · 32,600
- Black or African American11.7% · 4,802
- Two or more races4.6% · 1,915
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 1,384
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 265
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 225
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gentry
Gentry 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
#806
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,027
+670 bearers (+1.6%)
Per 100,000 14.59
Rank movement Down 65 places
2020
#821
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 41,191
-1,836 bearers (-4.3%)
Per 100,000 13.78
Rank movement Down 15 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #741 | 42,357 | 15.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #806 | 43,027 | 14.59 | +670 bearers (+1.6%) | Down 65 places |
| 2020 | #821 | 41,191 | 13.78 | -1,836 bearers (-4.3%) | Down 15 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 Gentry 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 | #806 | #821 | -1.9% |
| Count | 43,027 | 41,191 | -4.3% |
| Per 100K | 14.59 | 13.78 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gentry bearers went from 43,027 to 41,191 (-4.3% change). The surname moved down 15 positions in the national ranking, going from #806 to #821.
FAQ
Gentry surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gentry?
Name Census estimates that about 47,235 living Americans carry the surname Gentry. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,256 residents.
How common is Gentry?
Gentry ranks #821 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.78 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 41,191 people with the surname Gentry. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (47,235), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.78 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Gentry.
Has Gentry become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gentry went from 43,027 recorded bearers to 41,191. That is a decrease of 1,836 (-4.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #806 to #821.
What does the Census say about the background of Gentry?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gentry, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.1%. The next largest groups are Black (11.7%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Gentry in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.1% (32,600 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gentry appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.1%), Black (11.7%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Gentry (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 Gentry mean?
A surname referring to a person of noble birth, or one who is well-mannered and courteous. 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 Gentry (13.78 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 Gentry?
You can see how many people have the last name Gentry on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.