2000
#13,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,025
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.75
Rare Last name
Gent
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a common pasture or heath.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,298 Americans carry the last name Gent. That puts it at #14,358 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 149,153 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gent 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 Gent with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.3K
1 in 149,153
Census rank
#14,358
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,004 bearers of the surname Gent in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14358th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gent, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.1%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gent
The surname Gent is of English origin and has its roots in the medieval period. It is derived from the Old French word "gent," meaning people or individuals, which in turn comes from the Latin word "gens," meaning race or clan. The name likely originated as a descriptive surname, referring to someone who was considered part of the gentry or upper class.
In its earliest recorded uses, the name appeared in various spellings such as Gente, Gente, and Gent. One of the earliest known references to the name can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1176, where a person named William Gent is mentioned.
The name Gent also appears in the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which were a census-like record of landowners in medieval England. This suggests that some individuals bearing the name were landowners or part of the local gentry during that time period.
Over the centuries, the surname Gent has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest recorded examples is Sir Thomas Gent (c. 1480-1549), an English lawyer and Member of Parliament during the reign of Henry VIII. Another early bearer of the name was William Gent (c. 1535-1609), an English botanist and writer who published one of the earliest treatises on gardening.
In the 17th century, Thomas Gent (1693-1778) was a prominent printer and author in York, England, known for his works on local history and antiquities. A century later, Edward Gent (1795-1844) was a British naval officer who served during the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812.
Moving into more recent history, Sir Alfred Gent (1862-1936) was a British businessman and philanthropist who founded the electrical engineering company, GEC (General Electric Company), which later became part of the multinational corporation, Marconi.
Throughout its long history, the surname Gent has been associated with various place names and geographical locations in England, such as Gent in Shropshire and Gent's Hill in Lincolnshire, possibly reflecting areas where early bearers of the name resided or held land.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gent
Among Census respondents with the surname Gent, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.1%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Gent 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 Gent surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White85.2% · 1,708
- Black or African American6.1% · 122
- Two or more races4.0% · 80
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 72
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gent
Gent 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
#13,759
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,199
+174 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Down 35 places
2020
#14,358
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,004
-195 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 599 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,724 | 2,025 | 0.75 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,759 | 2,199 | 0.75 | +174 bearers (+8.6%) | Down 35 places |
| 2020 | #14,358 | 2,004 | 0.67 | -195 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 599 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 Gent 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 | #13,759 | #14,358 | -4.4% |
| Count | 2,199 | 2,004 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.75 | 0.67 | -10.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gent bearers went from 2,199 to 2,004 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 599 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,759 to #14,358.
FAQ
Gent surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gent?
Name Census estimates that about 2,298 living Americans carry the surname Gent. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 149,153 residents.
How common is Gent?
Gent ranks #14,358 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 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 2,004 people with the surname Gent. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,298), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 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 Gent.
Has Gent become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gent went from 2,199 recorded bearers to 2,004. That is a decrease of 195 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #13,759 to #14,358.
What does the Census say about the background of Gent?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gent, the largest self-reported group is White at 85.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.1%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Gent in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.2% (1,708 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gent appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (85.2%), Black (6.1%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Gent (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 Gent mean?
An English topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a common pasture or heath. 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 Gent (0.67 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 Americans have the surname Gent?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.