2000
#10,424
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,832
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.05
Rare Last name
Gabaldon
A Spanish habitational surname indicating someone from any of the various places named Gabaldon, derived from Arabic "gabal" meaning "mountain."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,237 Americans carry the last name Gabaldon. That puts it at #10,795 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 105,886 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gabaldon 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
3.2K
1 in 105,886
Census rank
#10,795
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,823 bearers of the surname Gabaldon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10795th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gabaldon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.3%. The next largest groups are White (13.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gabaldon
The surname Gabaldon is of Spanish origin and can be traced back to the medieval period in the region of Aragon, located in northeastern Spain. It is believed to have derived from the Aragonese word "gabalda," which referred to a type of rocky, mountainous terrain. This suggests that the name may have initially been associated with people who lived or worked in such landscapes.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gabaldon can be found in a document from the 13th century, where it appears as "Gaubaldon." This variation in spelling was not uncommon during that time, as standardized spelling conventions were not yet widely established.
In the 15th century, the name Gabaldon appeared in several historical records related to the Kingdom of Aragon, indicating that individuals bearing this surname may have held positions of importance or participated in significant events during that period.
One notable figure with the surname Gabaldon was Juan de Gabaldon, a Spanish military leader who participated in the conquest of the Canary Islands in the late 15th century. He was born around 1440 and played a crucial role in the subjugation of the indigenous population of the islands.
Another individual of historical significance was Pedro Gabaldon, a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. Gabaldon was part of the expedition that established the first European settlement in the Caribbean, on the island of Hispaniola (present-day Haiti and Dominican Republic).
In the 16th century, the Gabaldon family established a presence in Mexico, as evidenced by records from the colonial era. One prominent member of this lineage was Francisco de Gabaldon, a landowner and cattle rancher who was granted a large tract of land in the region of Nuevo León in the late 1500s.
As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Gabaldon surname spread to other parts of the Americas, including what is now the southwestern United States. In the 18th century, Pedro Antonio Gabaldon was a Spanish military officer who served as the governor of the province of Texas from 1736 to 1737.
Throughout history, the surname Gabaldon has also been associated with various place names, such as the town of Gabaldon in the province of Teruel, Spain, and the Gabaldon River in the Philippines, which was likely named after a Spanish settler or explorer with that surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gabaldon
Among Census respondents with the surname Gabaldon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.3%. The next largest groups are White (13.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Gabaldon 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 Gabaldon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino82.3% · 2,323
- White13.0% · 368
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 57
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 47
- Two or more races0.8% · 23
- Black or African American0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gabaldon
Gabaldon 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
#10,237
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,148
+316 bearers (+11.2%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Up 187 places
2020
#10,795
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,823
-325 bearers (-10.3%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 558 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,424 | 2,832 | 1.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,237 | 3,148 | 1.07 | +316 bearers (+11.2%) | Up 187 places |
| 2020 | #10,795 | 2,823 | 0.94 | -325 bearers (-10.3%) | Down 558 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 Gabaldon 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 | #10,237 | #10,795 | -5.5% |
| Count | 3,148 | 2,823 | -10.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 0.94 | -11.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gabaldon bearers went from 3,148 to 2,823 (-10.3% change). The surname moved down 558 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,237 to #10,795.
FAQ
Gabaldon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gabaldon?
Name Census estimates that about 3,237 living Americans carry the surname Gabaldon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 105,886 residents.
How common is Gabaldon?
Gabaldon ranks #10,795 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,823 people with the surname Gabaldon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,237), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Gabaldon.
Has Gabaldon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gabaldon went from 3,148 recorded bearers to 2,823. That is a decrease of 325 (-10.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,237 to #10,795.
What does the Census say about the background of Gabaldon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gabaldon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.3%. The next largest groups are White (13.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gabaldon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.3% (2,323 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gabaldon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (82.3%), White (13.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). 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 Gabaldon (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 Gabaldon mean?
A Spanish habitational surname indicating someone from any of the various places named Gabaldon, derived from Arabic "gabal" meaning "mountain." 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 Gabaldon (0.94 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 have the surname Gabaldon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.