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

Gellatly, 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 Gellatly surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gellatly in America

Gellatly is the 51176th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gellatly surname appeared 407 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 Gellatly.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gellatly 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 Gellatly

The surname Gellatly is of Scottish origin, originating from the Galloway region in southwestern Scotland. It is thought to be derived from the Gaelic words "geal" meaning "bright" or "white" and "ath" meaning "ford" or "stream." The name is believed to have originated from a specific location, perhaps referring to a bright or white stream or a ford near a stream.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gellatly appears in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which lists Scottish landowners who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. The name is listed as "William de Gellatlye" in this historical document, suggesting the presence of the name in Scotland during the late 13th century.

In the 16th century, the name Gellatly is found in various records from the Scottish Borders region, including the Privy Council Registers and the Register of the Great Seal of Scotland. These records mention individuals with the surname Gellatly holding land or involved in legal disputes.

Notable individuals with the surname Gellatly include:

1. John Gellatly (1853-1914), a Scottish-born Australian politician who served as a member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly.
2. Sir Walter Gellatly (1892-1971), a British civil servant and diplomat who served as Governor of Southern Rhodesia from 1946 to 1954.
3. James Gellatly (1907-1983), a Scottish footballer who played for Aberdeen F.C. and the Scotland national team in the 1930s.
4. David Gellatly (1943-2005), a Scottish actor known for his roles in films like "Trainspotting" and television series like "Taggart."
5. Robert Gellatly (1866-1942), a Scottish-born American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Gellatly Nut Company in Washington.

The name Gellatly has also been associated with various place names in Scotland, such as Gellatly Burn, a stream in the Scottish Borders region, and Gellatly Hill, a hill near the town of Moffat in Dumfries and Galloway.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gellatly

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

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

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

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