2000
#3,226
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,162
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.77
Uncommon Last name
Gatlin
Derived from an English place name meaning "goat land" or "goat pasture" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,670 Americans carry the last name Gatlin. That puts it at #3,430 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 29,371 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gatlin 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
12K
1 in 29,371
Census rank
#3,430
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,177 bearers of the surname Gatlin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3430th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gatlin, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.4%. The next largest groups are Black (29.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gatlin
The surname Gatlin is believed to have originated in England, with records dating back to the 12th century. It is thought to be derived from the Old English word "gat," meaning "goat," and the suffix "-lin," which was commonly used to form diminutives or denote small things. This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who kept or herded goats, or perhaps someone from a place associated with goats.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1195, which mention a person named William Gatlyn. The Gatlin surname also appears in various medieval records and documents, such as the Hundred Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1273, which lists a Robert Gatelyn.
In the 14th century, the name was sometimes spelled as Gatelyng or Gatelynge, reflecting the variations in spelling that were common during that time. The Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1327 include a reference to a John Gatelynge, while the Subsidy Rolls of Worcestershire from 1332 record a Thomas Gatelynge.
The Gatlin surname has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was John Gatlin (c. 1350-1418), an English clergyman who served as the Bishop of Winchester from 1404 until his death. Another notable figure was Richard Gatlin (c. 1465-1535), a Member of Parliament for the borough of Arundel in Sussex during the reign of King Henry VIII.
In the 17th century, there was Thomas Gatlin (c. 1620-1679), an English settler who arrived in Virginia in 1635 and became a prominent landowner and planter. His descendants played a significant role in the early history of Virginia and the American South.
Other notable individuals with the Gatlin surname include Richard Gatlin (1809-1896), a Baptist minister and educator who served as the president of Richmond College (now the University of Richmond) from 1859 to 1868, and Jesse Gatlin (1783-1838), a frontiersman and soldier who fought in the War of 1812 and the Creek War.
While the surname Gatlin has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, where it is particularly prevalent in the Southern states due to the early migration of English settlers to that region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gatlin
Among Census respondents with the surname Gatlin, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.4%. The next largest groups are Black (29.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Gatlin 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 Gatlin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White61.4% · 6,252
- Black or African American29.4% · 2,990
- Two or more races4.7% · 478
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 371
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 54
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gatlin
Gatlin 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
#3,329
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,785
+623 bearers (+6.1%)
Per 100,000 3.66
Rank movement Down 103 places
2020
#3,430
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,177
-608 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 3.40
Rank movement Down 101 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,226 | 10,162 | 3.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,329 | 10,785 | 3.66 | +623 bearers (+6.1%) | Down 103 places |
| 2020 | #3,430 | 10,177 | 3.40 | -608 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 101 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 Gatlin 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 | #3,329 | #3,430 | -3.0% |
| Count | 10,785 | 10,177 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.66 | 3.40 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gatlin bearers went from 10,785 to 10,177 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 101 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,329 to #3,430.
FAQ
Gatlin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gatlin?
Name Census estimates that about 11,670 living Americans carry the surname Gatlin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 29,371 residents.
How common is Gatlin?
Gatlin ranks #3,430 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.40 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,177 people with the surname Gatlin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,670), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.40 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Gatlin.
Has Gatlin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gatlin went from 10,785 recorded bearers to 10,177. That is a decrease of 608 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,329 to #3,430.
What does the Census say about the background of Gatlin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gatlin, the largest self-reported group is White at 61.4%. The next largest groups are Black (29.4%) and Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Gatlin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 61.4% (6,252 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gatlin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (61.4%), Black (29.4%), Two or More Races (4.7%). 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 Gatlin (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 Gatlin mean?
Derived from an English place name meaning "goat land" or "goat pasture" in Old English. 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 Gatlin (3.40 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 are called Gatlin?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Gatlin at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.