2000
#5,490
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,827
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.16
Rare Last name
Gaitan
Derived from a Visigothic personal name meaning "Goths," referring to a person from the Germanic tribe.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,565 Americans carry the last name Gaitan. That puts it at #4,609 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,018 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gaitan 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
8.6K
1 in 40,018
Census rank
#4,609
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,469 bearers of the surname Gaitan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4609th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaitan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.0%. The next largest groups are White (7.5%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gaitan
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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gaitan
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaitan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.0%. The next largest groups are White (7.5%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gaitan 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 Gaitan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino90.0% · 6,724
- White7.5% · 558
- Black or African American0.9% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 63
- Two or more races0.5% · 36
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gaitan
Gaitan 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
#4,606
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,702
+1,875 bearers (+32.2%)
Per 100,000 2.61
Rank movement Up 884 places
2020
#4,609
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,469
-233 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 2.50
Rank movement Down 3 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,490 | 5,827 | 2.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,606 | 7,702 | 2.61 | +1,875 bearers (+32.2%) | Up 884 places |
| 2020 | #4,609 | 7,469 | 2.50 | -233 bearers (-3.0%) | Down 3 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 Gaitan 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 | #4,606 | #4,609 | -0.1% |
| Count | 7,702 | 7,469 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 2.61 | 2.50 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gaitan bearers went from 7,702 to 7,469 (-3.0% change). The surname moved down 3 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,606 to #4,609.
FAQ
Gaitan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gaitan?
Name Census estimates that about 8,565 living Americans carry the surname Gaitan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,018 residents.
How common is Gaitan?
Gaitan ranks #4,609 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.50 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,469 people with the surname Gaitan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,565), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.50 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Gaitan.
Has Gaitan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gaitan went from 7,702 recorded bearers to 7,469. That is a decrease of 233 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,606 to #4,609.
What does the Census say about the background of Gaitan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaitan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.0%. The next largest groups are White (7.5%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Gaitan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (6,724 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gaitan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (90.0%), White (7.5%), Black (0.9%). 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 Gaitan (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 Gaitan mean?
Derived from a Visigothic personal name meaning "Goths," referring to a person from the Germanic tribe. 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 Gaitan (2.50 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 Gaitan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.