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

Gershon, 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 Gershon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gershon in America

Gershon is the 26887th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gershon surname appeared 903 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 Gershon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gershon 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 Gershon

The surname Gershon is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical name Gershon, which is one of the sons of Levi in the Old Testament. The name Gershon is thought to mean "expulsion" or "exile" in Hebrew.

While the name Gershon has biblical roots, it first emerged as a surname among Ashkenazi Jewish communities in Central and Eastern Europe in the late Middle Ages. As Jews were required to adopt hereditary surnames during this period, many chose names derived from biblical figures or Hebrew words.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gershon can be found in the Pinkas, a record of the Jewish community in Krakow, Poland, dating back to the 16th century. The name is also mentioned in various Jewish community records and census records from the 17th and 18th centuries in regions such as Lithuania, Ukraine, and Belarus.

Notable individuals with the surname Gershon include Levi Isaac Gershon (1688-1756), a prominent rabbi and author from Brest-Litovsk, Belarus. Another notable figure is Mordechai Gershon (1757-1831), a Polish-born rabbi and scholar who served as the Chief Rabbi of Kherson, Ukraine.

In the 19th century, individuals with the surname Gershon can be found in various parts of Europe, including Isaac Gershon (1805-1880), a German-born Hebrew grammarian, and Salomon Gershon (1834-1919), a German-born mathematician and educator.

As Jews emigrated from Eastern Europe to other parts of the world, the surname Gershon spread to different countries. One notable figure in the United States was Abraham Gershon (1882-1952), a Yiddish writer and journalist who was born in Lithuania.

While the surname Gershon has its roots in the biblical name, it evolved as a hereditary surname among Jewish communities in Eastern Europe, and its bearers have made significant contributions in various fields throughout history.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gershon

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

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

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

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