2000
#17,980
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,432
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.53
Rare Last name
Gedeon
A variant spelling of the biblical name Gideon, meaning "hewer" or "destroyer."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,396 Americans carry the last name Gedeon. That puts it at #13,860 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 143,053 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gedeon 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
2.4K
1 in 143,053
Census rank
#13,860
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,089 bearers of the surname Gedeon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13860th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gedeon, the largest self-reported group is Black at 48.7%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gedeon
The surname Gedeon is of French origin, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Hebrew personal name "Gideon," which means "hewer" or "destroyer" in reference to the biblical figure Gideon, who was a judge and military leader in ancient Israel.
Gedeon is a variant spelling of the French name Gédéon, which was introduced into France during the Crusades and gained popularity among Huguenot families. The name was initially concentrated in the regions of Normandy and Brittany, where many Huguenot communities were established.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Gedeon surname can be found in the Doomsday Book of 1086, a comprehensive survey of landholdings commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Gediun," indicating its presence in England during the Norman conquest.
In the 13th century, a notable figure bearing the name Gedeon was Gedeon de Douai, a prominent French nobleman and crusader who participated in the Eighth Crusade alongside King Louis IX. Another historical figure was Gedeon Tallemant des Réaux (1619-1692), a French writer and memoirist known for his vivid accounts of 17th-century Parisian society.
During the Protestant Reformation, several Huguenot families with the surname Gedeon fled religious persecution in France and sought refuge in other European countries and the American colonies. One such individual was Jacques Gedeon (1592-1661), a French Huguenot who immigrated to the Netherlands and became a prominent merchant and diplomat.
In the 18th century, Jean-Baptiste Gedeon (1744-1803) was a French architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Théâtre de l'Odéon and the Hôtel de la Monnaie.
Another notable figure was Gedeon Baumann (1832-1894), a German-born American artist and lithographer who is best known for his Civil War illustrations and portraits of prominent figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Ulysses S. Grant.
The surname Gedeon has been carried by individuals across various fields, including literature, art, architecture, and diplomacy, reflecting its diverse and rich heritage rooted in the medieval French and Huguenot traditions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gedeon
Among Census respondents with the surname Gedeon, the largest self-reported group is Black at 48.7%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Gedeon 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 Gedeon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American48.7% · 1,018
- White43.7% · 912
- Two or more races3.4% · 70
- Hispanic or Latino3.2% · 66
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gedeon
Gedeon 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
#16,968
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,675
+243 bearers (+17.0%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Up 1,012 places
2020
#13,860
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,089
+414 bearers (+24.7%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Up 3,108 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,980 | 1,432 | 0.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,968 | 1,675 | 0.57 | +243 bearers (+17.0%) | Up 1,012 places |
| 2020 | #13,860 | 2,089 | 0.70 | +414 bearers (+24.7%) | Up 3,108 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 Gedeon 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 | #16,968 | #13,860 | 18.3% |
| Count | 1,675 | 2,089 | 24.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.57 | 0.70 | 22.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gedeon bearers went from 1,675 to 2,089 (+24.7% change). The surname moved up 3,108 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,968 to #13,860.
FAQ
Gedeon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gedeon?
Name Census estimates that about 2,396 living Americans carry the surname Gedeon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 143,053 residents.
How common is Gedeon?
Gedeon ranks #13,860 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 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 2,089 people with the surname Gedeon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,396), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 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 Gedeon.
Has Gedeon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gedeon went from 1,675 recorded bearers to 2,089. That is an increase of 414 (+24.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,968 to #13,860.
What does the Census say about the background of Gedeon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gedeon, the largest self-reported group is Black at 48.7%. The next largest groups are White (43.7%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Gedeon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.7% (1,018 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gedeon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (48.7%), White (43.7%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Gedeon (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 Gedeon mean?
A variant spelling of the biblical name Gideon, meaning "hewer" or "destroyer." 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 Gedeon (0.70 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 Gedeon?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.