2000
#2,077
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,022
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.94
Uncommon Last name
Gage
An English occupational surname for a measurer or assessor of weights, measurements, or distances.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,845 Americans carry the last name Gage. That puts it at #2,285 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,207 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gage 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 Gage with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
18K
1 in 19,207
Census rank
#2,285
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,562 bearers of the surname Gage in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2285th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gage, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gage
The surname GAGE originated in England and is derived from the Old French word "gauge," meaning a measure or gauge. The name is thought to have first appeared in the 12th century and was likely an occupational name for someone who worked as a surveyor, inspector, or measurer of land, goods, or materials.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire from 1195, where a person named Richard le Gagour is mentioned. The surname was also recorded in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire in 1273, where a Richard le Gauge is listed.
The GAGE surname is believed to have originated in the county of Suffolk, where it was particularly prevalent in the medieval period. The parish of Gage in Suffolk may have been named after an early bearer of the surname, or vice versa.
In the 13th century, a person named John le Gage was recorded as holding lands in the village of Gage in Suffolk. This is one of the earliest known instances of the surname being associated with a specific location.
The GAGE surname has been borne by several notable individuals throughout history, including Sir Thomas Gage (1597-1656), an English soldier and colonial governor of Virginia, and Thomas Gage (1719-1787), a British military leader who served as the Commander-in-Chief of British forces in North America during the American Revolutionary War.
Another prominent figure with the GAGE surname was Nicholas Gage (1939-2008), an American author and journalist best known for his memoir "Eleni," which won the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1983.
In the literary world, James Gage (1615-1654) was an English Puritan minister and author who wrote several religious works, while Thomas Gage (1597-1675) was an English Catholic missionary who wrote about his experiences in Mexico and Central America in his book "The English-American: A New Survey of the West Indies."
The GAGE surname has also been associated with various places, such as Gage County in Nebraska, which was named after a prominent early settler named John Gage, and the town of Gage, Oklahoma, which was likely named after another individual with the same surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gage
Among Census respondents with the surname Gage, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Gage 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 Gage surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.9% · 12,286
- Black or African American11.8% · 1,837
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 596
- Two or more races3.8% · 586
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 129
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 128
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gage
Gage 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
#2,187
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,614
+592 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 5.63
Rank movement Down 110 places
2020
#2,285
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,562
-1,052 bearers (-6.3%)
Per 100,000 5.21
Rank movement Down 98 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,077 | 16,022 | 5.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,187 | 16,614 | 5.63 | +592 bearers (+3.7%) | Down 110 places |
| 2020 | #2,285 | 15,562 | 5.21 | -1,052 bearers (-6.3%) | Down 98 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 Gage 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 | #2,187 | #2,285 | -4.5% |
| Count | 16,614 | 15,562 | -6.3% |
| Per 100K | 5.63 | 5.21 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gage bearers went from 16,614 to 15,562 (-6.3% change). The surname moved down 98 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,187 to #2,285.
FAQ
Gage surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gage?
Name Census estimates that about 17,845 living Americans carry the surname Gage. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,207 residents.
How common is Gage?
Gage ranks #2,285 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,562 people with the surname Gage. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,845), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Gage.
Has Gage become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gage went from 16,614 recorded bearers to 15,562. That is a decrease of 1,052 (-6.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,187 to #2,285.
What does the Census say about the background of Gage?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gage, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Black (11.8%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Gage in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.9% (12,286 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gage appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.9%), Black (11.8%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Gage (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 Gage mean?
An English occupational surname for a measurer or assessor of weights, measurements, or distances. 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 Gage (5.21 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 Gage?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.