2000
#14,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,850
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Gerrard
Derived from the Germanic name "Gerard," meaning "brave" or "strong spear."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,121 Americans carry the last name Gerrard. That puts it at #15,281 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 161,600 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gerrard 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 Gerrard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.1K
1 in 161,600
Census rank
#15,281
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,850 bearers of the surname Gerrard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15281st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerrard, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gerrard
The surname Gerrard originated in England, derived from the personal name Gerard, which itself has Germanic roots. The name Gerard is composed of the elements "gar" meaning "spear" and "hard" meaning "brave" or "hardy." It was introduced into Britain by the Normans after the Norman Conquest of 1066.
Gerrard is a variant spelling of the more common Gerard, with the double "r" likely arising from regional pronunciation differences. The name can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, which recorded landowners and tenants in England following the Norman invasion. Several entries mention individuals with the name Gerard or a similar spelling.
In the 12th century, a notable bearer of the name was Gerard de Camville, a Norman nobleman who served as Sheriff of Lincolnshire and was involved in the rebellion against King Stephen. Another early example is Gerard de Furnivall, who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries and was a prominent landowner in Yorkshire.
During the Middle Ages, the surname was often associated with places or towns, leading to variants like Gerard of Wigan or Gerard of Winwick. Over time, these locational surnames evolved into fixed family names, such as Gerrard.
One famous bearer of the Gerrard surname was Sir John Gerrard, born around 1516, who served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland under Queen Elizabeth I. Another notable figure was Marcus Gerrard, a 17th-century English traveler and author who wrote accounts of his journeys to the West Indies and Virginia.
In the literary world, Alexander Gerrard, born in 1628, was a Scottish poet and minister best known for his work "An Apology for the Service of Love." Meanwhile, Samuel Gerrard, born in 1637, was an English botanist and surgeon who contributed significantly to the study of plant life in the 17th century.
The Gerrard surname has also been associated with several notable places, such as Gerard's Cross in Buckinghamshire, England, which is believed to have derived its name from an early bearer of the surname who owned land in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gerrard
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerrard, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Gerrard 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 Gerrard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.9% · 1,627
- Hispanic or Latino4.5% · 84
- Two or more races3.2% · 60
- Black or African American2.9% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gerrard
Gerrard 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
#14,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,024
+174 bearers (+9.4%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Up 33 places
2020
#15,281
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,850
-174 bearers (-8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.62
Rank movement Down 590 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,724 | 1,850 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,691 | 2,024 | 0.69 | +174 bearers (+9.4%) | Up 33 places |
| 2020 | #15,281 | 1,850 | 0.62 | -174 bearers (-8.6%) | Down 590 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 Gerrard 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 | #14,691 | #15,281 | -4.0% |
| Count | 2,024 | 1,850 | -8.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.62 | -10.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gerrard bearers went from 2,024 to 1,850 (-8.6% change). The surname moved down 590 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,691 to #15,281.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Gerrard
FAQ
Gerrard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gerrard?
Name Census estimates that about 2,121 living Americans carry the surname Gerrard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 161,600 residents.
How common is Gerrard?
Gerrard ranks #15,281 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.62 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 1,850 people with the surname Gerrard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,121), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.62 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 Gerrard.
Has Gerrard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gerrard went from 2,024 recorded bearers to 1,850. That is a decrease of 174 (-8.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,691 to #15,281.
What does the Census say about the background of Gerrard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gerrard, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Gerrard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.9% (1,627 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gerrard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.9%), Hispanic (4.5%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Gerrard (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 Gerrard mean?
Derived from the Germanic name "Gerard," meaning "brave" or "strong spear." 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 Gerrard (0.62 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 common is the surname Gerrard?
If you just want to know how common the surname Gerrard is, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.