2000
#10,336
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,855
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.06
Rare Last name
Gleeson
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Glasáin," meaning "descendant of Glasán," a personal name meaning "green" or "gray."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,328 Americans carry the last name Gleeson. That puts it at #10,540 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.97 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 102,991 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gleeson 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 Gleeson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.3K
1 in 102,991
Census rank
#10,540
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,902 bearers of the surname Gleeson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.97 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10540th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gleeson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gleeson
The surname Gleeson is an ancient Irish name that originated in County Tipperary, Ireland. It is derived from the Gaelic name "O'Glaisne," which means "descendant of the green one" or "descendant of the young shoot or scion."
The name is believed to have originated in the 10th or 11th century when surnames first began to be used in Ireland. The earliest recorded instance of the name Gleeson appears in the Annals of the Four Masters, an ancient chronicle of medieval Irish history.
In the 12th century, during the Norman invasion of Ireland, the name Gleeson was anglicized from its original Gaelic form. The family settled primarily in the counties of Tipperary and Waterford, where they established themselves as influential landowners and chieftains.
One of the earliest notable figures with the surname Gleeson was Domhnall Ó Glaisne, who was the Bishop of Emly (a town in County Tipperary) in the 13th century. Another prominent individual was Sir John Gleeson, who was knighted in 1599 for his service to the English crown.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Gleesons were involved in the Elizabethan and Jacobean plantations of Ireland, during which time many members of the family were dispossessed of their lands. Despite these challenges, the Gleesons remained a prominent family in Ireland.
Some notable Gleesons throughout history include Brendan Gleeson, the acclaimed Irish actor born in 1955, known for roles in films such as Braveheart, Gangs of New York, and the Harry Potter series. There was also Michael Gleeson, an Irish politician and Member of Parliament in the 19th century, and Patrick Gleeson, an Irish poet and writer who lived in the early 20th century.
The Gleeson name has also been prominent in the history of Australian settlement, with many Irish immigrants bearing the surname settling in Australia from the 18th century onwards. One of the earliest recorded Gleesons in Australia was John Gleeson, a convict who arrived in 1801 and was granted land in New South Wales.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gleeson
Among Census respondents with the surname Gleeson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gleeson 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 Gleeson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 2,631
- Hispanic or Latino3.4% · 100
- Two or more races2.9% · 83
- Black or African American1.6% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 16
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gleeson
Gleeson 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
#10,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,919
+64 bearers (+2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.99
Rank movement Down 571 places
2020
#10,540
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,902
-17 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.97
Rank movement Up 367 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,336 | 2,855 | 1.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,907 | 2,919 | 0.99 | +64 bearers (+2.2%) | Down 571 places |
| 2020 | #10,540 | 2,902 | 0.97 | -17 bearers (-0.6%) | Up 367 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 Gleeson 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 | #10,907 | #10,540 | 3.4% |
| Count | 2,919 | 2,902 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.99 | 0.97 | -1.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gleeson bearers went from 2,919 to 2,902 (-0.6% change). The surname moved up 367 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,907 to #10,540.
FAQ
Gleeson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gleeson?
Name Census estimates that about 3,328 living Americans carry the surname Gleeson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 102,991 residents.
How common is Gleeson?
Gleeson ranks #10,540 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.97 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 2,902 people with the surname Gleeson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,328), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.97 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.97 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 Gleeson.
Has Gleeson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gleeson went from 2,919 recorded bearers to 2,902. That is a decrease of 17 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,907 to #10,540.
What does the Census say about the background of Gleeson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gleeson, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.4%) and Two or More Races (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 Gleeson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (2,631 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gleeson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Hispanic (3.4%), Two or More Races (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 Gleeson (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 Gleeson mean?
An Irish surname derived from the Gaelic "Ó Glasáin," meaning "descendant of Glasán," a personal name meaning "green" or "gray." 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 Gleeson (0.97 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 Gleeson?
See how common the surname Gleeson is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.