2000
#49,767
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 396
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.15
Very Rare Last name
Gonet
An Americanized form of the French topographic surname derived from the word "gonnelle" meaning a marshy area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 525 Americans carry the last name Gonet. That puts it at #49,576 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 652,865 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gonet 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
525
1 in 652,865
Census rank
#49,576
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
458
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 458 bearers of the surname Gonet in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 49576th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gonet, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Black (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gonet
The surname Gonet is of French origin and can be traced back to the early 13th century in the Normandy region of northern France. It is believed to derive from the Old French word "gonne," meaning a type of sleeveless jacket or coat worn during medieval times. This suggests that the name may have been initially used as a nickname or occupational surname for someone who made or wore such garments.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Gonet surname appears in the Trésor des Chartes, a collection of medieval French royal charters and documents, from the year 1236. The entry mentions a man named Radulfus Gonet, likely residing in or near the town of Rouen.
In the 14th century, the Gonet name can be found in various records and manuscripts from the Normandy and Picardy regions. For example, the Poll Tax Rolls of 1381 list a Thomas Gonet from the village of Mortemer, while a 1395 census record from Abbeville mentions a family headed by a Jacques Gonet.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Gonet surname spread to other parts of France, particularly the central and eastern regions. Notable figures bearing this name include Jean Gonet (c. 1455-1519), a French philosopher and theologian who taught at the University of Paris, and Claude Gonet (1618-1681), a Jesuit scholar and author from the Franche-Comté region.
In the 17th century, the Gonet name appears in records from the city of Lyon, with several references to a family of printers and booksellers. One of the most prominent members of this family was Gabriel Gonet (1636-1705), a renowned printer and publisher who produced works by renowned authors such as Molière and Racine.
As the Gonet surname spread across Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries, it can be found in various places, including Belgium, Switzerland, and Italy. Notable individuals from this period include François Gonet (1740-1816), a Belgian architect who designed several notable buildings in Brussels, and Armando Gonet (1821-1892), an Italian painter and sculptor from Turin.
Throughout its history, the Gonet surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as Gonnet, Gonnette, and Gonneau, reflecting regional dialects and linguistic evolution. However, the core meaning and origins of the name remain rooted in the medieval French tradition of occupational and descriptive surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gonet
Among Census respondents with the surname Gonet, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Black (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Gonet 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 Gonet surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.5% · 433
- Black or African American2.4% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino1.5% · 7
- Two or more races1.5% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gonet
Gonet 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
#49,177
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 428
+32 bearers (+8.1%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Up 590 places
2020
#49,576
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 458
+30 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.15
Rank movement Down 399 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #49,767 | 396 | 0.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #49,177 | 428 | 0.15 | +32 bearers (+8.1%) | Up 590 places |
| 2020 | #49,576 | 458 | 0.15 | +30 bearers (+7.0%) | Down 399 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 Gonet 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 | #49,177 | #49,576 | -0.8% |
| Count | 428 | 458 | 7.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.15 | 0.15 | 2.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gonet bearers went from 428 to 458 (+7.0% change). The surname moved down 399 positions in the national ranking, going from #49,177 to #49,576.
FAQ
Gonet surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gonet?
Name Census estimates that about 525 living Americans carry the surname Gonet. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 652,865 residents.
How common is Gonet?
Gonet ranks #49,576 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.15 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 458 people with the surname Gonet. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (525), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.15 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 Gonet.
Has Gonet become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gonet went from 428 recorded bearers to 458. That is an increase of 30 (+7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #49,177 to #49,576.
What does the Census say about the background of Gonet?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gonet, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.5%. The next largest groups are Black (2.4%) and Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Gonet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.5% (433 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gonet appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.5%), Black (2.4%), Hispanic (1.5%). 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 Gonet (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 Gonet mean?
An Americanized form of the French topographic surname derived from the word "gonnelle" meaning a marshy area. 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 Gonet (0.15 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 Gonet?
See how many Americans have the surname Gonet on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.