2000
#57,544
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 331
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.12
Very Rare Last name
Gameros
A surname potentially derived from Spanish "gamero" meaning a womanizer or philanderer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 539 Americans carry the last name Gameros. That puts it at #48,549 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 635,908 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gameros 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
539
1 in 635,908
Census rank
#48,549
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
470
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 470 bearers of the surname Gameros in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 48549th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gameros, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.6%) and Two or More Races (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gameros
The surname Gameros is of Spanish origin and can be traced back to the late medieval period in the region of Castile. It is thought to be derived from the Spanish word "gamero," which means "shrimp fisherman" or "shrimp seller." This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been involved in the shrimp fishing or trading industry along the coastal areas of Spain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Gameros surname can be found in the Becerro de Behetrías, a 14th-century census document from the reign of King Pedro I of Castile. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Gameros residing in various villages and towns throughout Castile.
In the 15th century, the Gameros surname appeared in several historical records from the city of Seville, which was a major center for maritime trade and commerce during that time. Some notable individuals from this period include Pedro Gameros, a merchant who lived in Seville in the late 1400s, and Juan Gameros, a ship captain who sailed for the Spanish Crown in the early 1500s.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, as Spain expanded its empire across the Americas, the Gameros surname spread to various colonies in the New World. One notable example is Diego Gameros, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 1500s.
In the 18th century, the Gameros surname can be found in various genealogical records and parish registers from Spain and its colonies. One notable individual from this period is María Gameros, a landowner and philanthropist from the city of Cádiz, who lived from 1720 to 1798.
As the centuries progressed, the Gameros surname continued to be carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions. In the 19th century, for instance, José Gameros was a prominent lawyer and politician in Mexico, serving as a senator and governor of the state of Puebla in the 1860s.
Throughout its history, the Gameros surname has maintained its connection to its maritime and coastal origins, while also branching out into various other fields and occupations across different regions of the Spanish-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gameros
Among Census respondents with the surname Gameros, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.6%) and Two or More Races (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Gameros 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 Gameros surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino90.9% · 427
- White6.6% · 31
- Two or more races1.1% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 2
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gameros
Gameros 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
#42,937
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 504
+173 bearers (+52.3%)
Per 100,000 0.17
Rank movement Up 14,607 places
2020
#48,549
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 470
-34 bearers (-6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Down 5,612 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #57,544 | 331 | 0.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #42,937 | 504 | 0.17 | +173 bearers (+52.3%) | Up 14,607 places |
| 2020 | #48,549 | 470 | 0.16 | -34 bearers (-6.7%) | Down 5,612 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 Gameros 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 | #42,937 | #48,549 | -13.1% |
| Count | 504 | 470 | -6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.17 | 0.16 | -7.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gameros bearers went from 504 to 470 (-6.7% change). The surname moved down 5,612 positions in the national ranking, going from #42,937 to #48,549.
FAQ
Gameros surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gameros?
Name Census estimates that about 539 living Americans carry the surname Gameros. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 635,908 residents.
How common is Gameros?
Gameros ranks #48,549 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 470 people with the surname Gameros. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (539), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Gameros.
Has Gameros become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gameros went from 504 recorded bearers to 470. That is a decrease of 34 (-6.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #42,937 to #48,549.
What does the Census say about the background of Gameros?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gameros, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.6%) and Two or More Races (1.1%). 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 Gameros in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (427 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gameros appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (90.9%), White (6.6%), Two or More Races (1.1%). 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 Gameros (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 Gameros mean?
A surname potentially derived from Spanish "gamero" meaning a womanizer or philanderer. 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 Gameros (0.16 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 Gameros?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.