2000
#5,729
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,544
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.06
Rare Last name
Gaskill
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of a type of wooden cask called a "gask."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 6,047 Americans carry the last name Gaskill. That puts it at #6,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 56,682 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gaskill 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Gaskill with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
6.0K
1 in 56,682
Census rank
#6,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,273 bearers of the surname Gaskill in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaskill, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gaskill
The surname Gaskill has its origins in the north of England, particularly in Lancashire and Yorkshire, dating back to the 13th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English words "gærs" meaning grass and "scill" meaning a small hut or dwelling, suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in a grassy area or near a meadow.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name comes from the Subsidy Rolls of Lancashire in 1332, where a Robert del Gaskill is mentioned. This early spelling variation, "del Gaskill," reflects the Norman-French influence on English surnames during that period.
The Gaskill surname has also been associated with the town of Gaskill or Gaskell in Cheshire, which is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as "Casegehil." This place name likely originated from the Old English "cæse" meaning cheese and "hyll" meaning hill, suggesting a possible connection between the surname and a cheese-making settlement on a hill.
In the 16th century, the name appears in various records, such as the Parish Registers of Wigan in Lancashire, where a Richard Gaskill is recorded in 1592. During this time, the spelling variation "Gaskell" also emerged, particularly in the Cheshire and Lancashire regions.
Notable individuals with the surname Gaskill include:
1. Thomas Gaskill (1619-1687), an English Quaker minister and author from Yorkshire.
2. John Gaskill (1737-1798), an American Revolutionary War soldier from New Jersey.
3. George Gaskill (1809-1888), a British painter and engraver from London.
4. Elizabeth Cleghorn Gaskell (1810-1865), a renowned English novelist and biographer, best known for her novel "Cranford."
5. Walter Holbrook Gaskill (1847-1914), an American lawyer and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Ohio.
Throughout its history, the Gaskill surname has maintained a strong presence in northern England, particularly in Lancashire and Yorkshire, as well as in parts of the United States, where it was carried by early English settlers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gaskill
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaskill, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Gaskill 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 Gaskill surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.6% · 4,722
- Two or more races3.5% · 187
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 171
- Black or African American2.7% · 140
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gaskill
Gaskill 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
#6,139
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,581
+37 bearers (+0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.89
Rank movement Down 410 places
2020
#6,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,273
-308 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 1.76
Rank movement Down 82 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,729 | 5,544 | 2.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,139 | 5,581 | 1.89 | +37 bearers (+0.7%) | Down 410 places |
| 2020 | #6,221 | 5,273 | 1.76 | -308 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 82 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 Gaskill 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 | #6,139 | #6,221 | -1.3% |
| Count | 5,581 | 5,273 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.89 | 1.76 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gaskill bearers went from 5,581 to 5,273 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 82 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,139 to #6,221.
FAQ
Gaskill surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gaskill?
Name Census estimates that about 6,047 living Americans carry the surname Gaskill. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 56,682 residents.
How common is Gaskill?
Gaskill ranks #6,221 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.76 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 5,273 people with the surname Gaskill. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (6,047), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.76 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 Gaskill.
Has Gaskill become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gaskill went from 5,581 recorded bearers to 5,273. That is a decrease of 308 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,139 to #6,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Gaskill?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gaskill, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.6%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Gaskill in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.6% (4,722 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gaskill appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.6%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (3.2%). 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 Gaskill (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 Gaskill mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of a type of wooden cask called a "gask." 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 Gaskill (1.76 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 last name Gaskill?
If you just want to know how many people are called Gaskill, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.