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

Gately, 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 Gately surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gately in America

Gately is the 12012th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gately surname appeared 2,599 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 Gately.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gately 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 Gately

The surname Gately is of Irish origin, derived from the Gaelic name O'Geidheallaidh, which means "descendant of the wild Irishman." The name is believed to have originated in County Sligo, Ireland, in the 12th century.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gately can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a historical chronicle of medieval Irish history written by Franciscan friars in the 17th century. It mentions a Giolla Iosa O'Geidheallaidh, who was a member of the clergy in the 14th century.

The name Gately is also found in the Irish Fiants, which are official records of letters patent issued by the English government in Ireland during the 16th and 17th centuries. In 1604, a John Gately is mentioned as receiving a grant of land in County Sligo.

In the 19th century, the Gately surname was well-established in County Sligo and neighboring counties in the west of Ireland. Notable individuals with this surname include Patrick Gately (1789-1857), an Irish-born Catholic priest who served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Rapides in Louisiana, USA.

Another prominent figure was John Gately (1835-1908), an Irish-born lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Canadian House of Commons representing the riding of Northumberland West in Ontario from 1887 to 1896.

In the literary world, Thomas Gately (1819-1899) was an Irish-born American author and journalist who wrote several historical novels and biographies, including a biography of the Irish patriot Robert Emmet.

Edward Gately (1872-1942) was an American architect who designed several notable buildings in New York City, including the Church of St. Paul the Apostle and the New York County Courthouse.

Finally, James Gately (1915-2005) was an American actor who appeared in numerous films and television shows, including The Untouchables and The Twilight Zone.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gately

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

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

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

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