2000
#12,410
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,294
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Gasaway
Derived from a place name meaning "Gassa's way," referring to a road or path associated with someone named Gassa.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,492 Americans carry the last name Gasaway. That puts it at #13,402 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 137,542 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gasaway 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
2.5K
1 in 137,542
Census rank
#13,402
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,173 bearers of the surname Gasaway in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13402nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gasaway, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gasaway
The surname Gasaway is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is likely derived from an Old English or Anglo-Saxon place name, possibly referring to a specific location or settlement. One potential origin is from the Old English words "gærs" meaning grass and "wæg" meaning way or path, suggesting the name may have referred to a grassy pathway or meadow.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Gasaway can be traced back to the 13th century in various historical records and manuscripts from various regions of England. While it does not appear in the Domesday Book, which dates back to 1086, there are mentions of the name in later tax rolls and parish records.
One notable early bearer of the name was Sir William Gasaway, a knight who lived during the reign of King Edward I in the late 13th century. He was known for his service in the Welsh Wars and was granted lands in Herefordshire for his military contributions.
In the 15th century, a branch of the Gasaway family settled in the county of Yorkshire, where they established themselves as prominent landowners and traders. Records from this period show variations in the spelling, including Gasawaye, Gasaweigh, and Gasawaie.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name Gasaway became more widespread across England, with families bearing this surname found in various counties, including Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, and Gloucestershire. One notable figure from this era was Richard Gasaway, a wealthy merchant and alderman in the city of Bristol, who lived from 1580 to 1648.
As the British Empire expanded, the Gasaway name traveled to various parts of the world, with descendants settling in North America, Australia, and other British colonies. One prominent individual was John Gasaway, an early settler in Virginia who arrived in the late 17th century and established a successful tobacco plantation.
Other notable individuals with the surname Gasaway include:
1. Sir Thomas Gasaway (1745-1821), a British naval officer who served during the American Revolutionary War and later became an influential politician.
2. Elizabeth Gasaway (1792-1867), a renowned author and poet from Cornwall, England, known for her romantic novels and nature-inspired works.
3. James Gasaway (1810-1875), an American businessman and philanthropist who made his fortune in the textile industry and donated generously to educational institutions.
4. Margaret Gasaway (1867-1942), a British suffragette and women's rights activist who played a significant role in the fight for women's suffrage in the early 20th century.
5. William Gasaway (1901-1988), an acclaimed American architect renowned for his innovative designs and contributions to modernist architecture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gasaway
Among Census respondents with the surname Gasaway, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Gasaway 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 Gasaway surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.9% · 1,628
- Black or African American17.1% · 372
- Two or more races4.1% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino3.1% · 67
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gasaway
Gasaway 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
#12,981
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,365
+71 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Down 571 places
2020
#13,402
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,173
-192 bearers (-8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Down 421 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,410 | 2,294 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,981 | 2,365 | 0.80 | +71 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 571 places |
| 2020 | #13,402 | 2,173 | 0.73 | -192 bearers (-8.1%) | Down 421 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 Gasaway 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 | #12,981 | #13,402 | -3.2% |
| Count | 2,365 | 2,173 | -8.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.80 | 0.73 | -9.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gasaway bearers went from 2,365 to 2,173 (-8.1% change). The surname moved down 421 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,981 to #13,402.
FAQ
Gasaway surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gasaway?
Name Census estimates that about 2,492 living Americans carry the surname Gasaway. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 137,542 residents.
How common is Gasaway?
Gasaway ranks #13,402 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,173 people with the surname Gasaway. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,492), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Gasaway.
Has Gasaway become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gasaway went from 2,365 recorded bearers to 2,173. That is a decrease of 192 (-8.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,981 to #13,402.
What does the Census say about the background of Gasaway?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gasaway, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Black (17.1%) and Two or More Races (4.1%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gasaway in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.9% (1,628 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gasaway appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.9%), Black (17.1%), Two or More Races (4.1%). 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 Gasaway (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 Gasaway mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "Gassa's way," referring to a road or path associated with someone named Gassa. 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 Gasaway (0.73 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 common is the surname Gasaway?
Want to know how many people have the surname Gasaway? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.