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

Games, 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 Games surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Games in America

Games is the 16004th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Games surname appeared 1,814 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Games.

We can also compare 2010 data for Games 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 Games

The surname Games has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon and Norman periods of English history, deriving from the Old English word 'gamen', meaning 'sport' or 'joy'. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who was associated with games, entertainment or merriment.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Games can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which lists a landowner named Eadric Games in the county of Worcestershire. This indicates that the name was already established by the late 11th century.

During the Middle Ages, the surname Games appeared in various spellings, such as Gam, Gamme, and Gaymes, reflecting the fluid nature of surname spellings at the time. The name was particularly prevalent in the counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Herefordshire in the West Midlands region of England.

In the 13th century, a notable bearer of the surname was William Games, a member of the parliamentary forces during the English Civil War. He fought alongside Oliver Cromwell and was present at the Battle of Marston Moor in 1644.

Another historical figure with the surname Games was Robert Games (1572-1628), an English clergyman and author who served as the Rector of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. He is best known for his work 'The Overthrow of Stage-Plays', which criticized the theater and the performance of plays.

In the 18th century, John Games (1706-1779) was a prominent architect and surveyor in London. He designed several notable buildings, including the Church of St. Mary Woolnoth in the City of London.

A more recent bearer of the surname was Abram Games (1914-1996), a renowned British graphic designer and cartoonist. He is particularly celebrated for his iconic World War II propaganda posters, which featured striking imagery and bold typography.

Throughout history, the surname Games has maintained a strong presence in various regions of England, particularly in the West Midlands and East Anglia. While it may have originated as a descriptive name related to entertainment or merriment, the surname has since taken on a diverse range of meanings and associations over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Games

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

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

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

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