2000
#4,808
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,712
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.49
Rare Last name
Gayle
Derived from the Middle English male given name Gail, meaning "jovial" or "merry."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,497 Americans carry the last name Gayle. That puts it at #4,148 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 36,091 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gayle 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Gayle with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.5K
1 in 36,091
Census rank
#4,148
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,282 bearers of the surname Gayle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4148th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gayle, the largest self-reported group is Black at 64.1%. The next largest groups are White (25.3%) and Hispanic (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gayle
The surname Gayle has its origins in the Old French language and is derived from the personal name "Galle" or "Gaulle". It is believed to have originated in Normandy, France, around the 11th century.
This surname is thought to be a variant of the more common French surname "Gaulois", which means "a Gaul" or "a person from Gaul". The Gauls were a group of Celtic people who inhabited what is now modern-day France, Belgium, and parts of Germany during the Iron Age and Roman period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gayle can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Galle" and "Galla". This suggests that the name was already well-established in England by the time of the Norman Conquest.
During the Middle Ages, the Gayle family was prominent in various parts of England, particularly in Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The name is also associated with several place names in these regions, such as Gale in Yorkshire and Gayle in Lincolnshire.
Notable individuals with the surname Gayle throughout history include:
1. Sir John Gayle (c. 1592-1659), an English politician and member of the House of Commons during the English Civil War.
2. Edmund Gayle (1808-1881), an English clergyman and writer who served as the Bishop of Mashonaland in southern Africa.
3. Mary Gayle (1859-1946), an American educator and reformer who founded the Mary Gayle Kindergarten in New York City.
4. Christy Gayle (1925-2001), an American jazz singer and actress who performed with the Duke Ellington Orchestra.
5. Chris Gayle (born 1979), a Jamaican cricketer who has played for the West Indies national team and various domestic teams around the world.
While the surname Gayle has its roots in France, it has spread to various parts of the world, including England, the United States, and the Caribbean. It has also evolved into different spellings, such as Gale, Gaile, and Gail, over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gayle
Among Census respondents with the surname Gayle, the largest self-reported group is Black at 64.1%. The next largest groups are White (25.3%) and Hispanic (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Gayle 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 Gayle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American64.1% · 5,305
- White25.3% · 2,097
- Hispanic or Latino5.6% · 464
- Two or more races4.1% · 340
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 51
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gayle
Gayle 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
#4,481
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,916
+1,204 bearers (+17.9%)
Per 100,000 2.68
Rank movement Up 327 places
2020
#4,148
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,282
+366 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 2.77
Rank movement Up 333 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,808 | 6,712 | 2.49 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,481 | 7,916 | 2.68 | +1,204 bearers (+17.9%) | Up 327 places |
| 2020 | #4,148 | 8,282 | 2.77 | +366 bearers (+4.6%) | Up 333 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 Gayle 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 | #4,481 | #4,148 | 7.4% |
| Count | 7,916 | 8,282 | 4.6% |
| Per 100K | 2.68 | 2.77 | 3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gayle bearers went from 7,916 to 8,282 (+4.6% change). The surname moved up 333 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,481 to #4,148.
FAQ
Gayle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gayle?
Name Census estimates that about 9,497 living Americans carry the surname Gayle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 36,091 residents.
How common is Gayle?
Gayle ranks #4,148 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.77 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 8,282 people with the surname Gayle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,497), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.77 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 Gayle.
Has Gayle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gayle went from 7,916 recorded bearers to 8,282. That is an increase of 366 (+4.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,481 to #4,148.
What does the Census say about the background of Gayle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gayle, the largest self-reported group is Black at 64.1%. The next largest groups are White (25.3%) and Hispanic (5.6%). 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 Gayle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.1% (5,305 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gayle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (64.1%), White (25.3%), Hispanic (5.6%). 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 Gayle (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 Gayle mean?
Derived from the Middle English male given name Gail, meaning "jovial" or "merry." 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 Gayle (2.77 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 Gayle?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.