2000
#805
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 39,002
First available Census row
Per 100,000 14.46
Uncommon Last name
Giles
Derived from the Old French name "Giles," likely referring to a person from the Greek city of Aegea.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 45,148 Americans carry the last name Giles. That puts it at #861 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,592 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Giles 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 Giles with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
45K
1 in 7,592
Census rank
#861
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
39K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 39,371 bearers of the surname Giles in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 861st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Giles, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (25.3%) and Hispanic (6.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Giles
The surname GILES is of English origin, derived from the given name Giles, which is ultimately from the Greek name Aegidius, meaning "young goat". The name made its way into England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, brought over by Norman settlers from France.
GILES is thought to have originated as a surname in the 12th century, initially used to identify individuals who bore the given name Giles. It was particularly common in the counties of Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire. The earliest recorded instance of the surname is found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1195, where one Radulfus Giles is mentioned.
The Domesday Book, compiled in 1086, does not contain any direct references to the surname GILES, as surnames were not widely used at that time. However, it does list several individuals with the given name Giles, indicating the presence of the name in England prior to the emergence of hereditary surnames.
In the 13th century, the name GILES is recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1279, where it appears as "Gyles". The Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1301 also mention a John Gyles. During this period, the name was sometimes associated with the place name Giles, a village in Worcestershire, which may have contributed to its use as a surname.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname GILES was John Giles, a 14th-century English landowner and Member of Parliament for Devizes in 1335 and 1337. Another notable figure was William Giles, a 15th-century English judge and Chief Baron of the Exchequer, who lived from around 1390 to 1458.
In the 16th century, the name GILES gained prominence through individuals such as John Giles, an English Protestant reformer and author who lived from 1543 to 1611. Another notable bearer was Nathaniel Giles, a 17th-century English clergyman and author, who lived from 1635 to 1701.
Other historical figures with the surname GILES include James Giles, an 18th-century English politician who served as Member of Parliament for Shaftesbury from 1754 to 1768, and Benjamin Giles, an American Revolutionary War soldier and member of the Virginia House of Delegates, who lived from 1742 to 1836.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Giles
Among Census respondents with the surname Giles, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (25.3%) and Hispanic (6.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Giles 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 Giles surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.3% · 24,519
- Black or African American25.3% · 9,979
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 2,606
- Two or more races4.7% · 1,841
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 233
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 193
Timeline
Historical Census data for Giles
Giles 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
#849
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 40,598
+1,596 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 13.76
Rank movement Down 44 places
2020
#861
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 39,371
-1,227 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 13.17
Rank movement Down 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #805 | 39,002 | 14.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #849 | 40,598 | 13.76 | +1,596 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 44 places |
| 2020 | #861 | 39,371 | 13.17 | -1,227 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 12 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 Giles 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 | #849 | #861 | -1.4% |
| Count | 40,598 | 39,371 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 13.76 | 13.17 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Giles bearers went from 40,598 to 39,371 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #849 to #861.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Giles
FAQ
Giles surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Giles?
Name Census estimates that about 45,148 living Americans carry the surname Giles. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,592 residents.
How common is Giles?
Giles ranks #861 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.17 per 100,000 residents, which is about 13 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 39,371 people with the surname Giles. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (45,148), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.17 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 13 of them to have the surname Giles.
Has Giles become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Giles went from 40,598 recorded bearers to 39,371. That is a decrease of 1,227 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #849 to #861.
What does the Census say about the background of Giles?
Among Census respondents with the surname Giles, the largest self-reported group is White at 62.3%. The next largest groups are Black (25.3%) and Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Giles in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.3% (24,519 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Giles appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (62.3%), Black (25.3%), Hispanic (6.6%). 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 Giles (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 Giles mean?
Derived from the Old French name "Giles," likely referring to a person from the Greek city of Aegea. 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 Giles (13.17 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 Americans have the surname Giles?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.