2000
#6,562
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,764
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.77
Rare Last name
Giddings
Derived from the Old English place name Gydding, meaning "settlement of Gydda's people."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,444 Americans carry the last name Giddings. That puts it at #6,818 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.59 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 62,960 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Giddings 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 Giddings with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.4K
1 in 62,960
Census rank
#6,818
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,747 bearers of the surname Giddings in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.59 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6818th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Giddings, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Giddings
Among Census respondents with the surname Giddings, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Giddings 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 Giddings surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.8% · 3,267
- Black or African American20.5% · 974
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 228
- Two or more races4.8% · 227
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 17
Timeline
Historical Census data for Giddings
Giddings 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
#6,447
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,267
+503 bearers (+10.6%)
Per 100,000 1.79
Rank movement Up 115 places
2020
#6,818
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,747
-520 bearers (-9.9%)
Per 100,000 1.59
Rank movement Down 371 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,562 | 4,764 | 1.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,447 | 5,267 | 1.79 | +503 bearers (+10.6%) | Up 115 places |
| 2020 | #6,818 | 4,747 | 1.59 | -520 bearers (-9.9%) | Down 371 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 Giddings 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 | #6,447 | #6,818 | -5.8% |
| Count | 5,267 | 4,747 | -9.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.79 | 1.59 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Giddings bearers went from 5,267 to 4,747 (-9.9% change). The surname moved down 371 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,447 to #6,818.
FAQ
Giddings surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Giddings?
Name Census estimates that about 5,444 living Americans carry the surname Giddings. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 62,960 residents.
How common is Giddings?
Giddings ranks #6,818 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.59 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,747 people with the surname Giddings. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,444), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.59 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.59 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Giddings.
Has Giddings become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Giddings went from 5,267 recorded bearers to 4,747. That is a decrease of 520 (-9.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,447 to #6,818.
What does the Census say about the background of Giddings?
Among Census respondents with the surname Giddings, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.8%. The next largest groups are Black (20.5%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Giddings in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.8% (3,267 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Giddings appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.8%), Black (20.5%), Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Giddings (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 Giddings mean?
Derived from the Old English place name Gydding, meaning "settlement of Gydda's people." 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 Giddings (1.59 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 Giddings?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Giddings on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.