2000
#11,986
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,391
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Gladstone
A locational surname referring to someone from a place with a bright or shining stone.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,674 Americans carry the last name Gladstone. That puts it at #12,644 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.78 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 128,180 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gladstone 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 Gladstone with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 128,180
Census rank
#12,644
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,332 bearers of the surname Gladstone in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.78 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12644th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gladstone, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gladstone
The surname Gladstone originated in England, deriving from the Old English words "glæd" meaning "bright" or "shining", and "stān" meaning "stone". It is believed to have first emerged as a toponymic name, referring to a person who lived near a shining or bright stone.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a record of landowners in England, there are several entries for places named Gladston or Gledestan, which may have been the source of the surname. These place names likely referred to settlements near a notable bright or shining stone.
The earliest known recorded use of the surname Gladstone dates back to the 13th century. In the Pipe Rolls of Lancashire from 1246, there is a reference to a person named William de Gledestan.
During the Middle Ages, the name was sometimes spelled as Gladstanes, Gledstanes, or Gledstane, reflecting the different regional dialects and spelling variations of the time.
One notable early bearer of the Gladstone surname was Sir John Gladstone (1764-1851), a Scottish merchant and plantation owner in British Guiana. He was the father of the famous British Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898), who served four terms as Prime Minister in the late 19th century.
Another prominent figure with the Gladstone surname was Sir John Gladstone (1877-1944), a British politician and member of parliament. He was the great-grandson of the Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone.
In the 17th century, there was a John Gladstone (1615-1688), who was an English Puritan minister and author of several religious works.
Another notable figure was George Gladstone (1809-1962), a British businessman and philanthropist who founded the shipping company Gladstone, Lilley & Co.
The surname Gladstone has also been associated with several places in various parts of the world, such as Gladstone, Oregon in the United States, and Gladstone, Queensland in Australia, both named after the British Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gladstone
Among Census respondents with the surname Gladstone, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Gladstone 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 Gladstone surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White84.7% · 1,976
- Black or African American5.2% · 122
- Two or more races4.2% · 99
- Hispanic or Latino2.4% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 40
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.7% · 40
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gladstone
Gladstone 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
#12,724
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,426
+35 bearers (+1.5%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 738 places
2020
#12,644
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,332
-94 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 0.78
Rank movement Up 80 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,986 | 2,391 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,724 | 2,426 | 0.82 | +35 bearers (+1.5%) | Down 738 places |
| 2020 | #12,644 | 2,332 | 0.78 | -94 bearers (-3.9%) | Up 80 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 Gladstone 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 | #12,724 | #12,644 | 0.6% |
| Count | 2,426 | 2,332 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.82 | 0.78 | -4.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gladstone bearers went from 2,426 to 2,332 (-3.9% change). The surname moved up 80 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,724 to #12,644.
FAQ
Gladstone surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gladstone?
Name Census estimates that about 2,674 living Americans carry the surname Gladstone. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 128,180 residents.
How common is Gladstone?
Gladstone ranks #12,644 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.78 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 2,332 people with the surname Gladstone. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,674), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.78 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.78 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 Gladstone.
Has Gladstone become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gladstone went from 2,426 recorded bearers to 2,332. That is a decrease of 94 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,724 to #12,644.
What does the Census say about the background of Gladstone?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gladstone, the largest self-reported group is White at 84.7%. The next largest groups are Black (5.2%) and Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Gladstone in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (1,976 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gladstone appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (84.7%), Black (5.2%), Two or More Races (4.2%). 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 Gladstone (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 Gladstone mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from a place with a bright or shining stone. 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 Gladstone (0.78 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 are called Gladstone?
If you just want to know how many people are called Gladstone, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.