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

Gore, 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 Gore surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gore in America

Gore is the 1378th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gore surname appeared 25,648 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 Gore.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gore 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 Gore

The surname Gore has its origins in England, dating back to the 11th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "gara," meaning a small triangular piece of land or a strip of unploughed land between fields.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name is listed as "de la Gore," suggesting it may have initially referred to a place of residence or landholding.

In the 13th century, records show the name spelled as "atte Gore" and "de la Gore," indicating its association with a location or piece of land. It is possible that the name originated from a place called Gore, which was a small village in the county of Hertfordshire.

The first known bearer of the name was John de la Gore, who was born around 1220 in Hertfordshire. Another notable figure was Sir Thomas de la Gore, a knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War in the 14th century.

During the 16th century, the spelling of the name evolved to its modern form, Gore. One prominent bearer was Sir John Gore, who served as a Member of Parliament for Shropshire in the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the name gained prominence with Sir Ralph Gore, a successful merchant and Member of Parliament for Liverpool. His son, Sir John Gore, was a prominent lawyer and served as the Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1659 to 1660.

Another notable figure was Sir Francis Gore, who was born in 1769 and served as the Governor of Upper Canada (now Ontario) from 1806 to 1811. He played a significant role in the development of the colony during his tenure.

The Gore family also produced several distinguished military officers, including Lieutenant General Sir John Gore, who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath in 1815.

Throughout history, the surname Gore has been associated with various locations and place names, such as Gore's Green in Buckinghamshire, Gore Farm in Oxfordshire, and Gore Hill in New South Wales, Australia, reflecting the geographical origins of the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gore

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

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 Gore 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 Gore 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 Gore was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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