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

Gaitán, 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 Gaitán surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gaitán in America

Gaitán is the 4606th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gaitán surname appeared 7,702 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Gaitán.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gaitán 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 Gaitán

The surname Gaitan is of Spanish origin, derived from the medieval Spanish word "gaitán," meaning a braid or cord used for ornamentation on clothing or accessories. The name likely originated during the Middle Ages in Spain, where it may have referred to a person who made or sold such cords or braids.

Gaitan is a variation of the more common Spanish surname Gaitán, which can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of this name appears in a document from the year 1238, which mentions a person named Fernan Gaitán residing in the city of Seville, Spain.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Gaitán surname was found in various regions of Spain, including Andalusia, Castile, and Aragon. It was also carried by Spanish settlers and explorers who ventured to the Americas, where it took root in various Latin American countries.

In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing this surname was Pedro Gaitán, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of present-day Mexico and Guatemala. He was born around 1490 in Seville and died in the early 1540s in Guatemala.

Another historical figure with the Gaitán surname was Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, a Colombian politician and presidential candidate who was assassinated in 1948, an event that sparked the Bogotazo riots and the start of a decade-long period of civil unrest known as La Violencia. He was born in 1903 in Bogotá and his assassination on April 9, 1948, had a profound impact on Colombian history.

In the realm of literature, the Argentine writer and poet Juan José Gaitán (1865-1938) was a prominent figure in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was known for his works that explored the lives of the working class and the struggles of the Argentine people.

In the field of music, the Colombian composer and musician Gabriel Gaitan (1892-1971) made significant contributions to the development of Colombian folk music, particularly the bambuco genre. His compositions and performances helped preserve and promote Colombia's musical heritage.

Another notable bearer of the Gaitán surname was the Ecuadorian diplomat and politician Alfredo Gaitán Villavicencio (1901-1953), who served as the President of Ecuador for a brief period in 1932 during a turbulent political era in the country's history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gaitán

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

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 Gaitán 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 Gaitán 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 Gaitán was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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