2000
#1,606
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,532
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.61
Uncommon Last name
Gomes
A Portuguese and Galician surname derived from the given name Gomes, which is of Germanic origin meaning "man."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 29,119 Americans carry the last name Gomes. That puts it at #1,359 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,771 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gomes 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 Gomes with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
29K
1 in 11,771
Census rank
#1,359
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
25K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 25,393 bearers of the surname Gomes in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1359th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gomes, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Hispanic (14.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gomes
The surname Gomes is of Portuguese origin, deriving from the personal name Gomes. This name is thought to have originated from the Old Germanic name Gumma, which is a diminutive of the word 'guma' meaning 'man' or 'warrior'. The earliest known bearers of the Gomes name lived in Portugal during the 12th century.
In the historical records of Portugal, the Gomes surname can be found in documents dating back to the 13th century. One notable early bearer was Gomes Lourenço, a nobleman who served as a councilor to King Afonso III in the mid-1200s. Another was João Gomes de Abreu, a 14th century explorer who accompanied Portuguese expeditions to the Canary Islands.
The surname Gomes also has connections to several place names in Portugal. The town of Gomes Aires in the Algarve region is thought to have been named after an early settler with the Gomes surname. Similarly, the parish of Gomes in Porto may have derived its name from a landowner called Gomes.
Throughout history, there have been several prominent individuals with the surname Gomes. These include Pedro Álvares Gomes, a 15th century Portuguese navigator who explored the coast of West Africa. João Gomes Barreto (1520-1593) was a notable Portuguese explorer and naval officer who served as the Governor of Portuguese India.
In the literary world, João Baptista Gomes (1635-1700) was a renowned Portuguese playwright and poet during the baroque period. More recently, João Guimarães Rosa (1908-1967), often considered one of Brazil's greatest novelists, was born João Gomes Rosa.
Another noteworthy bearer of the Gomes surname was Sebastião Gomes da Silva (1892-1962), a Brazilian football player and manager who played a key role in establishing the sport in his home country. He was part of the first Brazilian national team to compete in the World Cup in 1930.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gomes
Among Census respondents with the surname Gomes, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Hispanic (14.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Gomes 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 Gomes surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.1% · 12,972
- Black or African American16.1% · 4,091
- Hispanic or Latino14.8% · 3,746
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.2% · 2,834
- Two or more races6.4% · 1,621
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 129
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gomes
Gomes 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
#1,433
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,827
+4,295 bearers (+20.9%)
Per 100,000 8.42
Rank movement Up 173 places
2020
#1,359
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,393
+566 bearers (+2.3%)
Per 100,000 8.50
Rank movement Up 74 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,606 | 20,532 | 7.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,433 | 24,827 | 8.42 | +4,295 bearers (+20.9%) | Up 173 places |
| 2020 | #1,359 | 25,393 | 8.50 | +566 bearers (+2.3%) | Up 74 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 Gomes 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 | #1,433 | #1,359 | 5.2% |
| Count | 24,827 | 25,393 | 2.3% |
| Per 100K | 8.42 | 8.50 | 0.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gomes bearers went from 24,827 to 25,393 (+2.3% change). The surname moved up 74 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,433 to #1,359.
FAQ
Gomes surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gomes?
Name Census estimates that about 29,119 living Americans carry the surname Gomes. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,771 residents.
How common is Gomes?
Gomes ranks #1,359 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.50 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 25,393 people with the surname Gomes. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (29,119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.50 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Gomes.
Has Gomes become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gomes went from 24,827 recorded bearers to 25,393. That is an increase of 566 (+2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,433 to #1,359.
What does the Census say about the background of Gomes?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gomes, the largest self-reported group is White at 51.1%. The next largest groups are Black (16.1%) and Hispanic (14.8%). 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 Gomes in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.1% (12,972 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gomes appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (51.1%), Black (16.1%), Hispanic (14.8%). 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 Gomes (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 Gomes mean?
A Portuguese and Galician surname derived from the given name Gomes, which is of Germanic origin meaning "man." 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 Gomes (8.50 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 have the last name Gomes?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Gomes? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.