2000
#78,549
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 226
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.08
Very Rare Last name
Gourdet
A French surname derived from the term "gourde" meaning a gourd or squash.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 478 Americans carry the last name Gourdet. That puts it at #53,526 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 717,059 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gourdet 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
478
1 in 717,059
Census rank
#53,526
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
417
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 417 bearers of the surname Gourdet in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 53526th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gourdet, the largest self-reported group is Black at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and White (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gourdet
The surname GOURDET is of French origin, dating back to the early 12th century. It is believed to have originated from the Normandy region of northern France, derived from the Old French word "gourde," which referred to a type of gourd or pumpkin. This surname may have initially been given to someone who grew or sold gourds.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the GOURDET name can be found in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Étienne de Caen, a collection of charters and deeds from the Abbey of Saint-Étienne in Caen, Normandy, dating from the 12th century. The name appears as "Gourdetus" in this document.
The GOURDET surname is also mentioned in the Livre des Bourgeois d'Arras, a record of the citizens of Arras, a city in northern France, from the 13th century. This suggests that the name had spread beyond Normandy by that time.
In the 14th century, a notable individual with the GOURDET surname was Jean GOURDET, a merchant and alderman in the city of Rouen, Normandy. He was born around 1320 and played an influential role in the city's governance during his lifetime.
During the 16th century, the GOURDET name appeared in various legal documents and records across France, indicating its continued presence throughout the country. One example is Pierre GOURDET, a lawyer and notary from Lyon, who lived from approximately 1520 to 1585.
Another prominent figure with the GOURDET surname was Jacques GOURDET, a French explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to the Americas in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was born around 1570 in Normandy and is known for his exploration of the coast of New England and the Canadian Maritimes.
In the 18th century, François GOURDET, a French mathematician and astronomer, made significant contributions to the fields of celestial mechanics and geodesy. He was born in 1720 in Normandy and served as a professor at the University of Paris.
The GOURDET surname has also been associated with various places and locations throughout France, such as the village of Gourdets in the Hautes-Alpes region, which likely derived its name from the surname itself.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gourdet
Among Census respondents with the surname Gourdet, the largest self-reported group is Black at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and White (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Gourdet 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 Gourdet surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American89.4% · 373
- Hispanic or Latino6.5% · 27
- White1.9% · 8
- Two or more races1.9% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gourdet
Gourdet 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
#59,324
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 341
+115 bearers (+50.9%)
Per 100,000 0.12
Rank movement Up 19,225 places
2020
#53,526
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 417
+76 bearers (+22.3%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Up 5,798 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #78,549 | 226 | 0.08 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #59,324 | 341 | 0.12 | +115 bearers (+50.9%) | Up 19,225 places |
| 2020 | #53,526 | 417 | 0.14 | +76 bearers (+22.3%) | Up 5,798 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 Gourdet 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 | #59,324 | #53,526 | 9.8% |
| Count | 341 | 417 | 22.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.12 | 0.14 | 16.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gourdet bearers went from 341 to 417 (+22.3% change). The surname moved up 5,798 positions in the national ranking, going from #59,324 to #53,526.
FAQ
Gourdet surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gourdet?
Name Census estimates that about 478 living Americans carry the surname Gourdet. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 717,059 residents.
How common is Gourdet?
Gourdet ranks #53,526 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 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 417 people with the surname Gourdet. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (478), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 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 Gourdet.
Has Gourdet become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gourdet went from 341 recorded bearers to 417. That is an increase of 76 (+22.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #59,324 to #53,526.
What does the Census say about the background of Gourdet?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gourdet, the largest self-reported group is Black at 89.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.5%) and White (1.9%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gourdet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.4% (373 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gourdet appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (89.4%), Hispanic (6.5%), White (1.9%). 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 Gourdet (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 Gourdet mean?
A French surname derived from the term "gourde" meaning a gourd or squash. 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 Gourdet (0.14 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 share the surname Gourdet?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.