2000
#18,953
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,331
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.49
Rare Last name
Gayden
An English surname derived from a place name, possibly meaning "valley by the ridge."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,699 Americans carry the last name Gayden. That puts it at #18,459 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 201,739 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gayden 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
1.7K
1 in 201,739
Census rank
#18,459
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,482 bearers of the surname Gayden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 18459th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gayden, the largest self-reported group is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (12.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gayden
The surname Gayden is of English origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated as a locational name, derived from a place called Gaydon or Geydon, which were old spellings for the village of Gaydon in Warwickshire, England.
The name is thought to be derived from the Old English words "gæge" meaning "valley" and "dun" meaning "hill." Thus, the name Gayden likely referred to someone who lived near or came from the valley or hill in the area known as Gaydon.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gayden appears in the Subsidy Rolls of Warwickshire from 1332, where a William de Gaydon is mentioned. This suggests that the name had already been established as a surname by the 14th century.
In the 16th century, the Gayden surname can be found in various records, including the Parish Registers of Stratford-upon-Avon, where a John Gayden was recorded as being married in 1584.
Notable individuals with the surname Gayden throughout history include:
1. William Gayden (c. 1570 - c. 1630), an English yeoman farmer and landowner who lived in the village of Gaydon.
2. Thomas Gayden (1620 - 1687), an English clergyman and rector of St. Mary's Church in Warwick.
3. Elizabeth Gayden (1654 - 1722), a writer and poet from Warwickshire, known for her collection of poems titled "Poetical Musings" published in 1695.
4. John Gayden (1768 - 1841), a British soldier who served in the Napoleonic Wars and was awarded the Waterloo Medal for his bravery.
5. Robert Gayden (1810 - 1885), an English businessman and industrialist who established a successful textile manufacturing company in Manchester.
While the name Gayden has its origins in the village of Gaydon in Warwickshire, it has since spread to other parts of England and beyond, with bearers of the surname found in various regions and countries over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gayden
Among Census respondents with the surname Gayden, the largest self-reported group is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (12.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Gayden 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 Gayden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American79.9% · 1,184
- White12.2% · 181
- Two or more races4.6% · 68
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gayden
Gayden 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
#17,896
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,562
+231 bearers (+17.4%)
Per 100,000 0.53
Rank movement Up 1,057 places
2020
#18,459
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,482
-80 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.50
Rank movement Down 563 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,953 | 1,331 | 0.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #17,896 | 1,562 | 0.53 | +231 bearers (+17.4%) | Up 1,057 places |
| 2020 | #18,459 | 1,482 | 0.50 | -80 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 563 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 Gayden 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 | #17,896 | #18,459 | -3.1% |
| Count | 1,562 | 1,482 | -5.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.53 | 0.50 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gayden bearers went from 1,562 to 1,482 (-5.1% change). The surname moved down 563 positions in the national ranking, going from #17,896 to #18,459.
FAQ
Gayden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gayden?
Name Census estimates that about 1,699 living Americans carry the surname Gayden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 201,739 residents.
How common is Gayden?
Gayden ranks #18,459 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.50 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,482 people with the surname Gayden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,699), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.50 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Gayden.
Has Gayden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gayden went from 1,562 recorded bearers to 1,482. That is a decrease of 80 (-5.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #17,896 to #18,459.
What does the Census say about the background of Gayden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gayden, the largest self-reported group is Black at 79.9%. The next largest groups are White (12.2%) and Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Gayden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.9% (1,184 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gayden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (79.9%), White (12.2%), Two or More Races (4.6%). 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 Gayden (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 Gayden mean?
An English surname derived from a place name, possibly meaning "valley by the ridge." 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 Gayden (0.50 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 Gayden?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.