2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gellin
A variant spelling of the surname Gellen, derived from a nickname for someone of German descent.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 117 Americans carry the last name Gellin. That puts it at #154,755 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,929,524 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gellin 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
117
1 in 2,929,524
Census rank
#154,755
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
102
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 102 bearers of the surname Gellin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154755th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gellin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gellin
The surname GELLIN originated in Germany during the medieval period, specifically in the regions of Bavaria and Saxony. It is derived from the German word "gelen," which means "to yell" or "to shout." This suggests that the name may have been given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a loud voice or a profession that involved shouting or calling out, such as a town crier or a herald.
Records from the 13th century indicate that the name was sometimes spelled as "Gellner" or "Gellinger." One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in a document from the city of Augsburg, dated 1267, which mentions a merchant named Hans Gellner.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various chronicles and tax records from the towns of Nuremberg and Leipzig. A notable bearer of the name during this period was Konrad Gellner, a respected goldsmith who lived in Nuremberg from 1380 to 1447.
By the 15th century, the GELLIN surname had spread to other parts of Germany and neighboring regions. In 1492, a manuscript from the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber mentions a baker named Peter Gellin.
During the Renaissance, the name was associated with several scholars and artists. One of the most prominent figures was Johannes Gellin, a humanist and professor of Greek who was born in Erfurt in 1505 and taught at the University of Wittenberg.
In the 17th century, the name can be found in records from the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. A notable bearer from this period was Georg Gellin, a Protestant theologian and rector of the Gymnasium Illustre in Weimar, who lived from 1635 to 1705.
Another significant figure in the history of the GELLIN surname was Johann Gottfried Gellin, a German composer and organist who was born in Blasienhütten, Saxony, in 1717 and made important contributions to church music during the late Baroque period.
In the 19th century, the name was associated with several industrialists and entrepreneurs. One example is August Gellin, a successful businessman and philanthropist who was born in Chemnitz, Saxony, in 1829 and founded a textile manufacturing company that employed thousands of workers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gellin
Among Census respondents with the surname Gellin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gellin 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 Gellin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.3% · 89
- Black or African American6.9% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gellin
Gellin 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
#151,532
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
+5 bearers (+4.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,437 places
2020
#154,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 102
-6 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 3,223 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #151,532 | 108 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.9%) | Down 4,437 places |
| 2020 | #154,755 | 102 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 3,223 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 Gellin 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 | #151,532 | #154,755 | -2.1% |
| Count | 108 | 102 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -14.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gellin bearers went from 108 to 102 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 3,223 positions in the national ranking, going from #151,532 to #154,755.
FAQ
Gellin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gellin?
Name Census estimates that about 117 living Americans carry the surname Gellin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,929,524 residents.
How common is Gellin?
Gellin ranks #154,755 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 102 people with the surname Gellin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (117), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Gellin.
Has Gellin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gellin went from 108 recorded bearers to 102. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #151,532 to #154,755.
What does the Census say about the background of Gellin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gellin, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.3%. The next largest groups are Black (6.9%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gellin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.3% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gellin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.3%), Black (6.9%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Gellin (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 Gellin mean?
A variant spelling of the surname Gellen, derived from a nickname for someone of German descent. 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 Gellin (0.03 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 are called Gellin?
Find out how many people have the surname Gellin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.