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

Ghent, 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 Ghent surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ghent in America

Ghent is the 20408th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ghent surname appeared 1,302 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 Ghent.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ghent 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 Ghent

The surname Ghent originated in the medieval city of Ghent, located in present-day Belgium. It first emerged in the 12th century as a locational surname, denoting someone who hailed from or lived near the city of Ghent. The name is derived from the Dutch word "Gent," which itself comes from the Gaulish word "Ganda," meaning "confluence" or "junction," referring to the city's strategic location at the confluence of the Lys and Scheldt rivers.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Ghent can be found in the Ghent Altarpiece, a famous polyptych panel painting created by the Flemish Renaissance artist Jan van Eyck between 1430 and 1432. The painting features a donor portrait of Joos Vijd and his wife, who were members of the wealthy Ghent-based Vijd family.

In England, the surname Ghent appeared in various records, including the Hundred Rolls of 1273, which listed a Robert de Gant in Oxfordshire. The surname was also found in the Domesday Book of 1086, with an entry for a landowner named Walter de Gand in Yorkshire.

Notable individuals with the surname Ghent include:

1. Edmund de Ghent (c. 1245-1294), an English baron and military commander who fought in the Ninth Crusade and the Welsh Wars under King Edward I.

2. John de Ghent (c. 1292-1370), an English cleric who served as the Bishop of Bangor and the Bishop of Hereford in the 14th century.

3. Joos van Ghent (c. 1410-1480), a Flemish painter known for his religious works, including the altarpiece in the Church of St. Peter in Leuven, Belgium.

4. Lieven van Ghent (c. 1576-1644), a Flemish painter and draughtsman who was active in Rome and is known for his landscapes and genre scenes.

5. Henry de Ghent (c. 1217-1293), a Flemish philosopher and theologian who taught at the University of Paris and wrote extensively on metaphysics and ethics.

The surname Ghent has also been associated with various place names, such as Ghent, New York, a town in Columbia County named after the Belgian city, and Ghent, Kentucky, a small unincorporated community in Carroll County.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ghent

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

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

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

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