# Gaines (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/gaines/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 43,821 |
| US rank (2010) | 788 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 7,046 people |
| Change since 2000 | +3.4% (42,369 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ɡeɪnz/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Who carries it

Share of people named Gaines in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 43% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 51% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.4% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.3% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 3.1% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Gaines in the United States.

## People named Gaines

- Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, former world record-holder, telev
- Chryste Gaines, American athletics competitor (born 1970)
- Boyd Gaines, American actor
- Steve Gaines, American guitarist (1949–1977)
- Richard Gaines, American actor (1904-1975)
- Cassie Gaines, American singer (1948–1977)
- Sundiata Gaines, American basketball player (born 1986)
- Ernest J. Gaines, American author (1933–2019)
- Corey Gaines, American basketball player and coach (born 1965)
- Reece Gaines, American basketball player (born 1981)
- William Gaines, American publisher, known for EC Comics and Mad Magazine
- Tim Gaines, American musician

and 2 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Goins, Goines, Gans, Gains, Guinness, Gines, Games, Ganesh, Gange, Gomez, Gomes, Gamez.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.