2000
#15,375
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,752
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.65
Rare Last name
Gassaway
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called Gassaway.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,917 Americans carry the last name Gassaway. That puts it at #16,649 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.56 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 178,797 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gassaway 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
1.9K
1 in 178,797
Census rank
#16,649
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,672 bearers of the surname Gassaway in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.56 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16649th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gassaway, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (23.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gassaway
The surname Gassaway has its origins in England and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the Old English words "gærs" meaning grass and "weg" meaning way or path, referring to a grassy path or a person who lived near one.
Early records show that the name was originally spelled as "Garsway" or "Garsweye" in various medieval documents and charters. One of the earliest references to the name can be found in the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire in 1275, where a certain Robert de Garsweye is mentioned.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, the name began to appear in other parts of England, particularly in the counties of Shropshire and Staffordshire. The earliest known bearer of the name Gassaway was Thomas Gassaway, who was born in Shropshire around 1420.
In the 16th century, the spelling of the name evolved to its modern form of "Gassaway". One notable individual from this period was John Gassaway, a merchant from London, who was born in 1542 and is recorded in the archives of the City of London.
During the 17th century, the Gassaway family established themselves in various parts of England, including Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. A prominent figure from this time was Sir William Gassaway (1605-1679), a wealthy landowner and Member of Parliament for Wiltshire.
As the British Empire expanded in the 18th and 19th centuries, some members of the Gassaway family emigrated to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia. One such individual was Robert Gassaway (1765-1842), a British settler who arrived in Virginia, United States, in the late 18th century.
Other notable individuals with the surname Gassaway include:
1. Henry Gassaway Davis (1823-1916), an American industrialist, politician, and banker from West Virginia.
2. Elizabeth Gassaway Brown (1846-1917), an American philanthropist and co-founder of the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs.
3. George Gassaway McGill (1807-1892), an American politician and judge from Missouri.
4. William Gassaway Caperton (1909-1949), a United States Army Air Forces officer and recipient of the Medal of Honor during World War II.
5. Thomas Gassaway Watkins (1836-1922), an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senator from West Virginia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gassaway
Among Census respondents with the surname Gassaway, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (23.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Gassaway 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 Gassaway surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.0% · 1,104
- Black or African American23.0% · 384
- Two or more races5.0% · 84
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 76
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 14
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gassaway
Gassaway 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
#16,390
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,756
+4 bearers (+0.2%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 1,015 places
2020
#16,649
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,672
-84 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 0.56
Rank movement Down 259 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,375 | 1,752 | 0.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,390 | 1,756 | 0.60 | +4 bearers (+0.2%) | Down 1,015 places |
| 2020 | #16,649 | 1,672 | 0.56 | -84 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 259 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 Gassaway 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 | #16,390 | #16,649 | -1.6% |
| Count | 1,756 | 1,672 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.60 | 0.56 | -6.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gassaway bearers went from 1,756 to 1,672 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 259 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,390 to #16,649.
FAQ
Gassaway surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gassaway?
Name Census estimates that about 1,917 living Americans carry the surname Gassaway. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 178,797 residents.
How common is Gassaway?
Gassaway ranks #16,649 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.56 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 1,672 people with the surname Gassaway. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,917), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.56 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.56 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 Gassaway.
Has Gassaway become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gassaway went from 1,756 recorded bearers to 1,672. That is a decrease of 84 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #16,390 to #16,649.
What does the Census say about the background of Gassaway?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gassaway, the largest self-reported group is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (23.0%) and Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Gassaway in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.0% (1,104 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gassaway appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (66.0%), Black (23.0%), Two or More Races (5.0%). 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 Gassaway (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 Gassaway mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a place called Gassaway. 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 Gassaway (0.56 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 Gassaway?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.