2000
#11,621
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,478
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.92
Rare Last name
Gines
Derived from a French place name, likely referring to someone from the town of Gines in northern France.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,086 Americans carry the last name Gines. That puts it at #11,231 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.90 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 111,068 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gines 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.
Bearers in the US
3.1K
1 in 111,068
Census rank
#11,231
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,691 bearers of the surname Gines in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.90 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11231st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gines, the largest self-reported group is White at 34.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (16.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gines
The surname Gines originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Spanish given name Ginés, which itself is a form of the Greek name Genesius. The name Genesius means "well-born" or "of noble birth."
Gines is a habitational name, meaning it likely originated from a specific place or location. Some historians suggest it may be linked to the municipality of Gines, located in the province of Seville, Andalusia, Spain. The town of Gines dates back to the Roman era and was known as Gines in Latin.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Gines can be found in the Cartulario de Sahagún, a medieval manuscript from the 12th century that contains records of property transactions and legal disputes in the region of León, Spain. The document mentions a certain Pedro Gines, who was involved in a land dispute in the year 1178.
In the 13th century, there is mention of a notable figure named Gonzalo Gines de Azevedo, who was a Portuguese nobleman and military commander during the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. He was born around 1235 and died in 1310.
During the Renaissance period, a prominent individual with the surname Gines was Francisco Gines de Sepúlveda, a Spanish Renaissance scholar, philosopher, and historian who lived from 1490 to 1573. He is best known for his writings defending the Spanish colonization of the Americas and the subjugation of Indigenous peoples.
Another notable bearer of the Gines surname was Juan Gines de Sepúlveda, a Spanish theologian, philosopher, and humanist who lived from 1490 to 1573. He was a contemporary of Francisco Gines de Sepúlveda and participated in the famous Valladolid debate, which discussed the treatment of Indigenous peoples in the Spanish colonies.
In the 17th century, a man named Domingo Gines was mentioned in the records of the Spanish Inquisition in Mexico. He was a merchant and landowner who was accused of practicing Judaism in secret, despite outwardly professing to be a Catholic.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gines
Among Census respondents with the surname Gines, the largest self-reported group is White at 34.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (16.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Gines 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 Gines surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White34.9% · 940
- Hispanic or Latino31.5% · 848
- Asian and Pacific Islander16.5% · 445
- Black or African American13.1% · 352
- Two or more races3.6% · 98
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gines
Gines 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
#11,170
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,832
+354 bearers (+14.3%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Up 451 places
2020
#11,231
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,691
-141 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.90
Rank movement Down 61 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,621 | 2,478 | 0.92 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,170 | 2,832 | 0.96 | +354 bearers (+14.3%) | Up 451 places |
| 2020 | #11,231 | 2,691 | 0.90 | -141 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 61 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 Gines 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 | #11,170 | #11,231 | -0.5% |
| Count | 2,832 | 2,691 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.96 | 0.90 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gines bearers went from 2,832 to 2,691 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 61 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,170 to #11,231.
FAQ
Gines surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gines?
Name Census estimates that about 3,086 living Americans carry the surname Gines. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 111,068 residents.
How common is Gines?
Gines ranks #11,231 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.90 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 2,691 people with the surname Gines. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,086), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.9 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.90 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 Gines.
Has Gines become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gines went from 2,832 recorded bearers to 2,691. That is a decrease of 141 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,170 to #11,231.
What does the Census say about the background of Gines?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gines, the largest self-reported group is White at 34.9%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (31.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (16.5%). 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 Gines in the 2020 Census, accounting for 34.9% (940 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gines appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (34.9%), Hispanic (31.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (16.5%). 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 Gines (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 Gines mean?
Derived from a French place name, likely referring to someone from the town of Gines in northern France. 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 Gines (0.90 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 Americans have the surname Gines?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.