2000
#9,557
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.16
Rare Last name
Gorden
Derived from the Scottish place name Gordon, likely meaning "great hill" or "spacious fort" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,298 Americans carry the last name Gorden. That puts it at #10,621 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 103,928 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gorden 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 Gorden with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.3K
1 in 103,928
Census rank
#10,621
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,876 bearers of the surname Gorden in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10621st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gorden, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gorden
The surname Gorden is of Scottish origin, derived from a place name that originally meant "green valley" in the Old English language. It is believed to have originated in the Borders region of Scotland, near the English border, sometime in the 12th or 13th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of this surname can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which were a series of homage rolls listing Scottish nobles and landholders who swore fealty to King Edward I of England. The name appears as "Gordon" in these rolls, which is an earlier spelling variation.
The Gordons were a prominent Scottish clan and noble family who held significant lands and power in the north-eastern regions of Scotland, particularly in Aberdeenshire and Banffshire. The Clan Gordon's ancestral seat was Huntly Castle, and they were closely associated with the town of Huntly.
In the 14th century, Sir Adam Gordon was a notable figure who served as the Lord of Strathbogie and played a key role in the Wars of Scottish Independence against the English. Another famous bearer of this name was George Gordon, 6th Earl of Huntly (c.1532-1595), who was a powerful Scottish nobleman and Protestant leader during the Scottish Reformation.
Across the Atlantic, James Gordon (1615-1686) was an early Scottish settler in New Jersey and one of the founders of the town of Middletown. He served as the Deputy Governor of New Jersey from 1683 to 1684.
Other notable individuals with the surname Gorden include Lord George Gordon (1751-1793), a British politician and instigator of the Gordon Riots in London in 1780, and Charles George Gordon (1833-1885), a British army officer and administrator who gained fame for his defense of Khartoum during the Mahdist War in Sudan.
While the Gorden surname has Scottish roots, it has since spread to various parts of the world, especially through migration and the spread of the British Empire. However, its origins can be traced back to the green valleys of the Scottish Borders region, where it first emerged as a place name and eventually became a prominent clan and family name.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gorden
Among Census respondents with the surname Gorden, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Gorden 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 Gorden surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.4% · 1,966
- Black or African American21.9% · 630
- Hispanic or Latino4.8% · 138
- Two or more races3.4% · 98
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gorden
Gorden 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
#10,186
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,164
+43 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 1.07
Rank movement Down 629 places
2020
#10,621
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,876
-288 bearers (-9.1%)
Per 100,000 0.96
Rank movement Down 435 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,557 | 3,121 | 1.16 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,186 | 3,164 | 1.07 | +43 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 629 places |
| 2020 | #10,621 | 2,876 | 0.96 | -288 bearers (-9.1%) | Down 435 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 Gorden 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 | #10,186 | #10,621 | -4.3% |
| Count | 3,164 | 2,876 | -9.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.07 | 0.96 | -10.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gorden bearers went from 3,164 to 2,876 (-9.1% change). The surname moved down 435 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,186 to #10,621.
FAQ
Gorden surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gorden?
Name Census estimates that about 3,298 living Americans carry the surname Gorden. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 103,928 residents.
How common is Gorden?
Gorden ranks #10,621 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.96 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 2,876 people with the surname Gorden. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,298), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.96 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 Gorden.
Has Gorden become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gorden went from 3,164 recorded bearers to 2,876. That is a decrease of 288 (-9.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,186 to #10,621.
What does the Census say about the background of Gorden?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gorden, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.9%) and Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Gorden in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.4% (1,966 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gorden appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.4%), Black (21.9%), Hispanic (4.8%). 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 Gorden (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 Gorden mean?
Derived from the Scottish place name Gordon, likely meaning "great hill" or "spacious fort" in Gaelic. 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 Gorden (0.96 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 Gorden?
Want to know how common the surname Gorden is? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.