2000
#10,837
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,700
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.00
Rare Last name
Gatling
Derived from a place name meaning "goat meadow" or "goat pasture" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,220 Americans carry the last name Gatling. That puts it at #10,835 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.94 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 106,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gatling 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
3.2K
1 in 106,445
Census rank
#10,835
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,808 bearers of the surname Gatling in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.94 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10835th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gatling, the largest self-reported group is Black at 77.8%. The next largest groups are White (13.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gatling
The surname Gatling originates from England, and its origins can be traced back to the 13th century. The name is believed to have derived from the Old English word "gat," which means "goat," and the suffix "-ling," which was used to indicate a small or young person or animal. Thus, the name Gatling likely referred to someone who worked with or tended goats.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Gatling surname can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, which lists a person named Richard Gateling. The Gatling name also appears in various medieval tax records and rolls from different parts of England, indicating its widespread presence across the country.
In the 16th century, the Gatling surname was often spelled differently, with variations such as Gatelyn, Gattlying, and Gattelynge. These alternative spellings reflect the fluidity of surnames in that era and the influence of regional dialects.
A notable historical figure with the Gatling surname was Richard Gatling (1818-1903), an American inventor best known for patenting the Gatling gun, one of the earliest successful machine guns, in 1862. Gatling's invention played a significant role in various military conflicts, including the American Civil War.
Another prominent individual with the Gatling surname was Sir William Gatling (1644-1701), an English merchant and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Salisbury from 1698 until his death in 1701.
In the 18th century, John Gatling (1731-1813) was a prominent figure in the American Revolutionary War, serving as a Colonel in the Virginia Militia and participating in several battles against the British forces.
The Gatling surname also has connections to various place names in England, such as Gatling Green in Hertfordshire and Gatling Hill in Northamptonshire, suggesting that the name may have originated from or been associated with these locations.
Despite its English origins, the Gatling surname has since spread to other parts of the world, including the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, due to emigration and migration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gatling
Among Census respondents with the surname Gatling, the largest self-reported group is Black at 77.8%. The next largest groups are White (13.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Gatling 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 Gatling surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American77.8% · 2,185
- White13.7% · 385
- Two or more races5.2% · 146
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 76
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gatling
Gatling 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
#10,819
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,944
+244 bearers (+9.0%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Up 18 places
2020
#10,835
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,808
-136 bearers (-4.6%)
Per 100,000 0.94
Rank movement Down 16 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,837 | 2,700 | 1.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,819 | 2,944 | 1.00 | +244 bearers (+9.0%) | Up 18 places |
| 2020 | #10,835 | 2,808 | 0.94 | -136 bearers (-4.6%) | Down 16 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 Gatling 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 | #10,819 | #10,835 | -0.1% |
| Count | 2,944 | 2,808 | -4.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.00 | 0.94 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gatling bearers went from 2,944 to 2,808 (-4.6% change). The surname moved down 16 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,819 to #10,835.
FAQ
Gatling surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gatling?
Name Census estimates that about 3,220 living Americans carry the surname Gatling. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 106,445 residents.
How common is Gatling?
Gatling ranks #10,835 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.94 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 2,808 people with the surname Gatling. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,220), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.94 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.94 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 Gatling.
Has Gatling become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gatling went from 2,944 recorded bearers to 2,808. That is a decrease of 136 (-4.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,819 to #10,835.
What does the Census say about the background of Gatling?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gatling, the largest self-reported group is Black at 77.8%. The next largest groups are White (13.7%) and Two or More Races (5.2%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gatling in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.8% (2,185 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gatling appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (77.8%), White (13.7%), Two or More Races (5.2%). 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 Gatling (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 Gatling mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "goat meadow" 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 Gatling (0.94 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 surname Gatling?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.