Skip to content
Name Lineage

    The surname Gaines

    A surname, carried by 43,821 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ɡeɪnz/ 1 syllable Soundex G520

    Gaines: #788 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Gaines #788, 43,821 people Gaines: #788 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Gaines #788, 43,821 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Gaines is more common than 99.5% of them.

    Origin

    A surname.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 43,821 people named Gaines in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 7,046 Americans. That is up 3.4% since 2000, when the Census counted 42,369.

    #788
    rank among US surnames
    43,821
    people in 2010
    15
    per 100,000 Americans
    +3.4%
    change since 2000 (was #739)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #779Conway44,3206,966
    #780McKee44,1376,995
    #781Barr44,1306,996
    #782David44,0407,011
    #783Dejesus44,0387,011
    #784Marin43,9047,032
    #785Berger43,8517,041

    Who is named Gaines

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    51% of people named Gaines identified as Black (not Hispanic), 43% as white (not Hispanic) and 3.1% as two or more races.

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

    Compare: most common surnames among Black Americans.

    Famous Gainess

    14 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Rowdy Gaines
      American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, former world record-holder, telev, born 1959
    • Chryste Gaines
      American athletics competitor (born 1970)
    • Boyd Gaines
      American actor, born 1953
    • 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, 1922–1992
    • Tim Gaines
      American musician, born 1962

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Gaines

    Gaines has the Soundex code G520, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G520.

    Questions

    How common is the surname Gaines?
    43,821 people in the United States had the surname Gaines in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 7,046 Americans. It ranked 788th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Gaines?
    In the 2010 Census, 51% of people named Gaines identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 43% as white (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Gaines?
    Rowdy Gaines, American swimmer, Olympic gold medalist, world champion, former world record-holder, telev, followed by Chryste Gaines.
    Where is the surname Gaines most common?
    Wikidata records people named Gaines in the United States.
    How do you pronounce Gaines?
    Gaines is /ɡeɪnz/, one syllable.
    Is the surname Gaines getting more or less common?
    More common. 42,369 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 43,821 in 2010, up 3.4%.