Find out how popular the last name Gleason is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Gleason.

Gleason, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Gleason surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gleason in America

Gleason is the 1395th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gleason surname appeared 25,416 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 9 people would have the surname Gleason.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gleason to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Gleason

The surname Gleason originated in Ireland and is derived from the Gaelic personal name 'Gíolla Iasachta', which means 'servant of Jesus'. It was first found in County Mayo, where the name is believed to have originated from the Gaelic 'O'Gillaisigh' sept.

The name Gleason has been anglicized and modified from its original Gaelic form over the centuries. Some of the earliest recorded spellings include Gyllyson, Gyllyshon, and Gillison, which were found in various medieval records and manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries.

One of the earliest documented references to the name Gleason can be found in the Annals of the Four Masters, a chronicle of medieval Irish history compiled in the early 17th century. The annals mention a member of the Gleason family, Aodh O'Gillaisigh, who was a prominent figure in the Gaelic nobility of County Mayo in the 15th century.

In the Domesday Book, a comprehensive survey of landowners in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086, there is no record of the name Gleason or its variants, suggesting that the name was not yet established in England at that time.

One of the most notable figures in history with the surname Gleason was Patrick Gleason (1856-1926), an American politician who served as the Mayor of Long Island City, New York, from 1898 to 1900. Another prominent Gleason was James Gleason (1886-1959), an American actor and writer who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career.

Other notable individuals with the surname Gleason include:

1. Jackie Gleason (1916-1987), an American comedian, actor, and writer best known for his television series "The Honeymooners" and his film work.
2. Donald Gleason (1925-2010), an American baseball player who played for the Cleveland Indians and the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1950s.
3. Andrew Gleason (1921-2008), an American mathematician and professor at Harvard University, known for his contributions to the field of abstract algebra.
4. Kathleen Gleason (born 1950), an American actress and writer who has appeared in several films and television shows, including "The Incredible Hulk" and "The Silence of the Lambs".

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gleason

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Gleason.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Gleason was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Gleason has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Gleason was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Gleason, please contact us.

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