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

Giddings, 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 Giddings surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Giddings in America

Giddings is the 6447th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Giddings surname appeared 5,267 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Giddings.

We can also compare 2010 data for Giddings 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 Giddings

The surname Giddings originated in England and can be traced back to the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old English word "gyding," which means "guidance" or "leading." The name is thought to have been initially given as a descriptive name to someone who was a guide or a leader.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Giddings can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Cambridgeshire from 1199, where it appears as "Gidding." This suggests that the name may have originated in the village of Gidding, located in the county of Huntingdonshire (now part of Cambridgeshire).

The Giddings name is also associated with the village of Little Gidding, which was home to the Ferrar family's religious community in the 17th century. Nicholas Ferrar, born in 1592 and died in 1637, was a notable figure who established the community at Little Gidding, where he and his family lived a life of devotion and charitable works.

During the Middle Ages, the name appeared in various spellings, such as "Gyddynge," "Gyddyng," and "Gidding." This variation in spelling was common in those times due to the lack of standardized orthography.

One notable bearer of the Giddings name was Sir William Giddings, a 16th-century English politician and landowner. He served as a Member of Parliament for Bedfordshire in 1559 and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Joshua Reed Giddings, an American lawyer, politician, and abolitionist. Born in 1795 and died in 1864, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio and was a vocal opponent of slavery.

In the 18th century, Edward Giddings, born in 1693 and died in 1768, was an English clergyman and author. He is known for his work "A Course of Sermons on the Lord's Prayer," published in 1763.

Another notable bearer of the Giddings surname was Franklin Henry Giddings, an American sociologist and economist. Born in 1855 and died in 1931, he was a pioneer in the field of sociology and contributed significantly to the development of the discipline in the United States.

The Giddings name has also been associated with various places, such as Gidding Park in Cambridgeshire, England, which was once owned by the Giddings family.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Giddings

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

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

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

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