Find out how popular the last name Gaas is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Gaas.

Gaas, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Gaas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gaas in America

Gaas is the 142108th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gaas surname appeared 117 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Gaas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gaas to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Gaas

The surname GAAS is believed to have originated in the Netherlands during the late 16th century. It is derived from the Dutch word "gans," which means goose, and may have originally referred to a goose farmer or someone who lived near a body of water where geese were found.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name GAAS can be found in the Dutch Protestant church records of Leiden, where a man named Jan Willemszoon Gaas was baptized in 1598. This suggests that the name was already in use by that time in that region.

In the 17th century, the GAAS surname began to appear in other parts of the Netherlands, including Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Some variations in spelling included Gaes, Gaaze, and Gaase, reflecting the fluid nature of spelling during that era.

During the 1600s, a notable figure with the GAAS surname was Pieter Gaas, a Dutch Golden Age painter who specialized in still life and landscape paintings. He was born in Rotterdam around 1620 and died in Amsterdam in 1690.

Another significant bearer of the GAAS name was Gerrit Gaas, a Dutch merchant and trader who lived in the late 17th century. He was involved in the Dutch East India Company and helped establish trade routes between the Netherlands and the East Indies.

In the 18th century, the GAAS surname spread to other parts of Europe, including Germany and France, likely due to migration and trade. One notable figure from this period was Johann Gaas, a German composer and organist who was born in Saxony in 1740 and died in Leipzig in 1818.

As the 19th century dawned, the GAAS surname continued to be found in various parts of Europe, with some bearers of the name making their way to other parts of the world, including the Americas and Australia, as part of larger migration patterns.

One notable individual from this era was Willem Gaas, a Dutch explorer and naturalist who was born in Rotterdam in 1812. He participated in several expeditions to South America and the Caribbean, documenting the flora and fauna of those regions.

Another significant figure was Marie Gaas, a French artist and sculptor who was born in Paris in 1856. She is known for her intricate sculptures of animals and her contributions to the Art Nouveau movement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gaas

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Gaas.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Gaas was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Gaas has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Gaas was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gaas, please contact us.

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