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

Gaunt, 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 Gaunt surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gaunt in America

Gaunt is the 11993rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gaunt surname appeared 2,604 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 Gaunt.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gaunt 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 Gaunt

The surname Gaunt originated in England, likely derived from the Old French word "gant" or "gante," meaning "thin" or "slender." It emerged as a descriptive nickname for a thin or slender person during the Middle Ages when surnames were first adopted.

The name Gaunt can be traced back to the 11th century and is found in various historical records, including the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants in England following the Norman Conquest. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Robert Gaunt, who held lands in Lincolnshire in the late 11th century.

The Gaunt surname is also associated with several notable figures throughout history. One of the most prominent was John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (1340-1399), the fourth son of King Edward III of England. He played a significant role in the political and military affairs of England during the late 14th century.

Another notable bearer of the name was Elizabeth Woodville Gaunt (c. 1437-1492), who was the wife of Edward IV, King of England. She was a member of the House of Woodville and played an influential role in the Wars of the Roses.

In the 17th century, John Gaunt (1592-1672) was an English Puritan clergyman and a member of the Westminster Assembly, which played a crucial role in the English Civil War and the establishment of Presbyterianism in England.

The name Gaunt has also been associated with various place names in England, such as Gaunts Earthcott in Somerset and Gaunts Common in Dorset. These place names likely derived from the surname itself, reflecting the presence of families bearing the name in those areas.

Other notable individuals with the surname Gaunt include Thomas Gaunt (c. 1555-1595), an English Catholic martyr executed during the reign of Elizabeth I, and Humphrey Gaunt (c. 1557-1629), an English Catholic priest and writer.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gaunt

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

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

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

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