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

Gayheart, 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 Gayheart surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gayheart in America

Gayheart is the 18867th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gayheart surname appeared 1,449 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Gayheart.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gayheart 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 Gayheart

The surname Gayheart is believed to have originated in England during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Old English words "gæc" meaning "cuckoo" and "heort" meaning "heart." The name likely referred to someone who had a light-hearted or joyful personality, much like the cheerful song of a cuckoo bird.

In the 13th century, variations of the name, such as "Gayherte" and "Gayhart," appeared in historical records from various counties in England, including Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in the Hundredorum Rolls of 1273, which listed a Thomas Gayherte as a landowner in the village of Boxted, Essex.

During the 14th century, the name Gayheart began to spread across other regions of England. The Pipe Rolls of 1349 mentioned a John Gayhert from Lincolnshire, while the Subsidy Rolls of 1381 recorded a William Gayheart living in Yorkshire.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in the Paston Letters, a collection of correspondences written by members of the influential Paston family. One letter, dated 1472, referred to a man named Robert Gayheart, who was involved in a legal dispute over land ownership.

Notable individuals with the surname Gayheart throughout history include:

1. Sir William Gayheart (c. 1520 - 1585), an English landowner and Member of Parliament for Arundel during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

2. Robert Gayheart (c. 1595 - 1665), a Puritan minister and author who emigrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1635.

3. Mary Gayheart (1633 - 1717), an accused witch during the Salem Witch Trials in 1692, though she was eventually acquitted of all charges.

4. Captain John Gayheart (1745 - 1823), a British naval officer who served in the Royal Navy during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars.

5. Elizabeth Gayheart (1785 - 1860), a pioneer and one of the first settlers in the Oregon Territory, arriving with her family in 1846 along the famous Oregon Trail.

While the surname Gayheart has its roots in medieval England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through emigration to the American colonies and other English-speaking nations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gayheart

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

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

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

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