2000
#8,103
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,770
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.40
Rare Last name
Gilles
Derived from the French name Gilles, a surname referring to someone who was associated with Saint Giles.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,755 Americans carry the last name Gilles. That puts it at #7,696 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.39 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 72,083 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gilles 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 Gilles with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.8K
1 in 72,083
Census rank
#7,696
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,147 bearers of the surname Gilles in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.39 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7696th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gilles, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gilles
The surname Gilles originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the French personal name Gilles, which itself comes from the Latin name Aegidius, meaning "young goat." The name can be traced back to the 6th century, when a Greek saint named Aegidius lived as a hermit in southern France.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Gilles can be found in various medieval documents from the 12th and 13th centuries in northern France and Normandy. The name was particularly common in the regions of Picardy, Île-de-France, and Normandy. It was often spelled in different ways, such as Gile, Gile, and Gilles.
One notable early bearer of the name was Gilles de Corbeil, a French physician and poet who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. He served as the court physician to King Philip Augustus of France and wrote several medical treatises in verse form.
Another important historical figure with the surname Gilles was Gilles de Rais (1404-1440), a French nobleman and military commander who fought alongside Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War. However, he later became notorious for his crimes of serial murder and was eventually executed for his actions.
In the 15th century, there was a French painter known as Gilles le Breton (c. 1400-1460), who was active in Paris and Bourges. He is known for his illuminated manuscripts and paintings depicting religious scenes and portraits.
The surname Gilles also has a connection to various place names in France, such as Gilles (Normandy), Gilles-les-Bois (Picardy), and Gilles-les-Vignes (Île-de-France). These place names likely contributed to the spread and popularity of the surname in their respective regions.
Another notable bearer of the name was Gilles Corozet (1510-1568), a French historian and writer from Paris. He is best known for his work "Les Antiquitez de Paris," which provided a detailed account of the history and monuments of the city.
Over the centuries, the surname Gilles has been carried by many other notable individuals, including philosophers, artists, and writers, particularly in France and other French-speaking regions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gilles
Among Census respondents with the surname Gilles, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.5%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Gilles 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 Gilles surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White71.0% · 2,943
- Black or African American21.5% · 892
- Two or more races3.2% · 134
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 125
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 20
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gilles
Gilles 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
#8,082
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,102
+332 bearers (+8.8%)
Per 100,000 1.39
Rank movement Up 21 places
2020
#7,696
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,147
+45 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 1.39
Rank movement Up 386 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,103 | 3,770 | 1.40 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,082 | 4,102 | 1.39 | +332 bearers (+8.8%) | Up 21 places |
| 2020 | #7,696 | 4,147 | 1.39 | +45 bearers (+1.1%) | Up 386 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 Gilles 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 | #8,082 | #7,696 | 4.8% |
| Count | 4,102 | 4,147 | 1.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.39 | 1.39 | -0.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gilles bearers went from 4,102 to 4,147 (+1.1% change). The surname moved up 386 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,082 to #7,696.
FAQ
Gilles surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gilles?
Name Census estimates that about 4,755 living Americans carry the surname Gilles. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 72,083 residents.
How common is Gilles?
Gilles ranks #7,696 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.39 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 4,147 people with the surname Gilles. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,755), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.39 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.39 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 Gilles.
Has Gilles become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gilles went from 4,102 recorded bearers to 4,147. That is an increase of 45 (+1.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,082 to #7,696.
What does the Census say about the background of Gilles?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gilles, the largest self-reported group is White at 71.0%. The next largest groups are Black (21.5%) 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 Gilles in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.0% (2,943 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gilles appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (71.0%), Black (21.5%), 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 Gilles (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 Gilles mean?
Derived from the French name Gilles, a surname referring to someone who was associated with Saint Giles. 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 Gilles (1.39 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 many people have the surname Gilles?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.