2000
#134,037
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 116
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gits
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the Scottish term "gett" meaning a child or young person.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Gits. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gits 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Gits in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gits, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gits
The surname GITS originated in Germany in the 12th century. It is derived from the Old German word "gitan," meaning "to acquire or obtain." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who had acquired wealth or property.
GITS is believed to have first appeared in the region of Bavaria, and early variations of the spelling included Gitz, Gites, and Gitse. The name is also found in parts of Austria and Switzerland due to the close proximity and shared linguistic roots with southern Germany.
One of the earliest known records of the surname GITS is in the Bavarian town of Landshut in 1275, where a merchant named Hans Gits is mentioned in a local tax register. In the 14th century, a nobleman named Konrad Gits owned land near the village of Oberammergau.
The Domesday Book, a detailed survey of landowners in England compiled in 1086, does not contain any references to the name GITS, suggesting that it was not present in Britain at that time.
Notable individuals with the surname GITS throughout history include:
1. Johann Gits (1592-1647), a German composer and organist from Nuremberg.
2. Katharina Gits (1668-1728), a German writer and poet from Augsburg.
3. Wilhelm Gits (1795-1876), a Prussian military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars.
4. Alois Gits (1843-1912), an Austrian architect who designed several prominent buildings in Vienna.
5. Ernst Gits (1901-1968), a German physicist who made contributions to the field of quantum mechanics.
The surname GITS can also be found in various place names, such as Gitsdorf, a village in Bavaria, and Gitschen, a small town in Saxony.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gits
Among Census respondents with the surname Gits, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gits 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 Gits surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.2% · 95
- Two or more races3.9% · 4
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gits
Gits 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
#146,201
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
-3 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,164 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-10 bearers (-8.8%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 7,981 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #134,037 | 116 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #146,201 | 113 | 0.04 | -3 bearers (-2.6%) | Down 12,164 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -10 bearers (-8.8%) | Down 7,981 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 Gits 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 | #146,201 | #154,182 | -5.5% |
| Count | 113 | 103 | -8.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gits bearers went from 113 to 103 (-8.8% change). The surname moved down 7,981 positions in the national ranking, going from #146,201 to #154,182.
FAQ
Gits surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gits?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Gits. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Gits?
Gits ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 103 people with the surname Gits. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Gits.
Has Gits become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gits went from 113 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 10 (-8.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #146,201 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Gits?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gits, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.2%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.9%) and Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Gits in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.2% (95 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gits appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.2%), Two or More Races (3.9%), Hispanic (2.9%). 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 Gits (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 Gits mean?
A surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from the Scottish term "gett" meaning a child or young person. 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 Gits (0.03 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 Gits?
Want to know how many people are called Gits? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.