2000
#11,520
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,505
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Gorsuch
Derived from a place name meaning "triangular piece of land" in Old English.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,701 Americans carry the last name Gorsuch. That puts it at #12,557 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 126,899 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gorsuch 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 Gorsuch with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.7K
1 in 126,899
Census rank
#12,557
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,355 bearers of the surname Gorsuch in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12557th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gorsuch, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gorsuch
The surname Gorsuch has its origins in the English county of Cheshire, where it is derived from the Old English words 'gors' meaning marsh or fen and 'hough' meaning ridge or hill. The name was originally a topographic name for someone who lived on a ridge near a marsh or fen.
The earliest recorded instance of the name dates back to the 13th century, with a Robert de Gorsehull appearing in the Assize Rolls of Cheshire in 1286. The Gorsuch family was well-established in the area around Nantwich and Audlem in Cheshire by the 14th century.
In the 16th century, the Gorsuch surname is found recorded in the parish registers of Middlewich, Cheshire, with the spelling variations Gorsuche, Gorsuch, and Gorsuche appearing. One notable bearer of the name from this period was John Gorsuch, born in Middlewich around 1520, who was a prosperous yeoman farmer.
By the 17th century, the Gorsuch family had spread across other parts of England. In 1635, a Thomas Gorsuch was recorded as a minister in the parish of St. Olave, Hart Street, London. Another early bearer of the name was Benjamin Gorsuch, born in 1670 in Walton-on-the-Hill, Lancashire.
The Gorsuch name was also carried to the American colonies in the late 17th century by members of the Quaker faith. One of the earliest recorded Gorsuches in America was Thomas Gorsuch, born around 1645 in Wiltshire, England, who settled in Maryland in the 1670s and became a prominent landowner and Quaker minister.
Other notable individuals with the Gorsuch surname include Sir John Gorsuch Gorsuch, born in 1797 in Bury, Lancashire, who served as a British diplomat and was knighted in 1844. Sir John Gorsuch Gorsuch, 1st Baronet, born in 1831, was a British merchant and politician who served as a Member of Parliament for Liverpool.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gorsuch
Among Census respondents with the surname Gorsuch, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Gorsuch 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 Gorsuch surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.5% · 2,154
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 67
- Two or more races2.8% · 67
- Black or African American1.7% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gorsuch
Gorsuch 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
#12,467
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,490
-15 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Down 947 places
2020
#12,557
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,355
-135 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Down 90 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,520 | 2,505 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,467 | 2,490 | 0.84 | -15 bearers (-0.6%) | Down 947 places |
| 2020 | #12,557 | 2,355 | 0.79 | -135 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 90 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 Gorsuch 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 | #12,467 | #12,557 | -0.7% |
| Count | 2,490 | 2,355 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.84 | 0.79 | -6.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gorsuch bearers went from 2,490 to 2,355 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 90 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,467 to #12,557.
FAQ
Gorsuch surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gorsuch?
Name Census estimates that about 2,701 living Americans carry the surname Gorsuch. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 126,899 residents.
How common is Gorsuch?
Gorsuch ranks #12,557 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 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 2,355 people with the surname Gorsuch. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,701), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 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 Gorsuch.
Has Gorsuch become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gorsuch went from 2,490 recorded bearers to 2,355. That is a decrease of 135 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,467 to #12,557.
What does the Census say about the background of Gorsuch?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gorsuch, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.8%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Gorsuch in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (2,154 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gorsuch appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.5%), Hispanic (2.8%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Gorsuch (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 Gorsuch mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "triangular piece of land" in Old English. 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 Gorsuch (0.79 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 Gorsuch?
Want to know how many Americans have the surname Gorsuch? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.