2000
#11,869
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,415
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.90
Rare Last name
Gadsden
From an English place name, likely derived from the Old English for "Gadd's valley" or "Gadd's hill."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,985 Americans carry the last name Gadsden. That puts it at #11,553 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 114,826 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gadsden 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 Gadsden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 114,826
Census rank
#11,553
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,603 bearers of the surname Gadsden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11553rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gadsden, the largest self-reported group is Black at 84.1%. The next largest groups are White (7.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gadsden
The Gadsden surname originated in England, deriving from the Old English words "gad" meaning "goad" or "rod", and "denu" meaning "valley" or "pastoral clearing". It likely referred to someone who lived in a valley where cattle were raised, using a goad to herd them. The earliest recorded spelling of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Gatesden".
The name traces its roots to Hampshire and Wiltshire in southern England, with early references found in medieval records from those counties. One of the earliest known bearers was Roger de Gatesden, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Hampshire in 1195.
In the 13th century, the name was sometimes spelled "Gadesby" or "Gadseby", reflecting its pronunciation at the time. The Hundred Rolls of 1273 record a Richard de Gatesden in Wiltshire.
During the 14th century, the spelling evolved closer to its modern form, with instances like John Gadsden appearing in tax records from 1327 in Somerset.
Notable individuals with this surname include Christopher Gadsden (1724-1805), an American patriot and merchant from South Carolina who designed the famous Gadsden Flag. James Gadsden (1788-1858) was a U.S. Army officer and diplomat who negotiated the Gadsden Purchase, acquiring lands for the United States from Mexico in 1853.
Other prominent bearers were Samuel Gadsden (1786-1858), a South Carolina planter and politician, and Reverend Philip Gadsden (1740-1807), an Anglican priest and loyalist during the American Revolution. In England, Sir Jeffrey Gadsden (1650-1709) was a Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gadsden
Among Census respondents with the surname Gadsden, the largest self-reported group is Black at 84.1%. The next largest groups are White (7.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Gadsden 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 Gadsden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American84.1% · 2,188
- White7.1% · 184
- Two or more races4.5% · 118
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gadsden
Gadsden 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
#11,393
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,768
+353 bearers (+14.6%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Up 476 places
2020
#11,553
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,603
-165 bearers (-6.0%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 160 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,869 | 2,415 | 0.90 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,393 | 2,768 | 0.94 | +353 bearers (+14.6%) | Up 476 places |
| 2020 | #11,553 | 2,603 | 0.87 | -165 bearers (-6.0%) | Down 160 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 Gadsden 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 | #11,393 | #11,553 | -1.4% |
| Count | 2,768 | 2,603 | -6.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.94 | 0.87 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gadsden bearers went from 2,768 to 2,603 (-6.0% change). The surname moved down 160 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,393 to #11,553.
FAQ
Gadsden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gadsden?
Name Census estimates that about 2,985 living Americans carry the surname Gadsden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 114,826 residents.
How common is Gadsden?
Gadsden ranks #11,553 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.87 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 2,603 people with the surname Gadsden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,985), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.87 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 Gadsden.
Has Gadsden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gadsden went from 2,768 recorded bearers to 2,603. That is a decrease of 165 (-6.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,393 to #11,553.
What does the Census say about the background of Gadsden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gadsden, the largest self-reported group is Black at 84.1%. The next largest groups are White (7.1%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gadsden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.1% (2,188 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gadsden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (84.1%), White (7.1%), Two or More Races (4.5%). 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 Gadsden (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 Gadsden mean?
From an English place name, likely derived from the Old English for "Gadd's valley" or "Gadd's hill." 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 Gadsden (0.87 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 share the surname Gadsden?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.