How common is the surname Gainey?

8,556 people in the United States had the surname Gainey in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 36,085 Americans. It ranked 4,140th of 162,253 surnames.

Where is the surname Gainey most common?

Wikidata records people named Gainey in the United States.

Is the surname Gainey getting more or less common?

More common. 8,099 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,556 in 2010, up 5.6%.

The surname Gainey

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 8,556 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex G500

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Gainey is more common than 97.4% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Mac Géibheannaigh (“son of Géibheannach”), a personal name derived from géibheannach (“fettered”).

Gainey is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

One of 880 Irish surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 8,556 people named Gainey in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 36,085 Americans. That is up 5.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 8,099.

#4,140

rank among US surnames

8,556

people in 2010

2.9

per 100,000 Americans

+5.6%

change since 2000 (was #4,025)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#4,131	Molnar	8,586	35,959
#4,132	Gough	8,584	35,968
#4,133	Bandy	8,582	35,976
#4,134	Moncada	8,574	36,010
#4,135	Chavira	8,573	36,014
#4,138	Welker	8,566	36,043
#4,139	Teran	8,557	36,081

Who is named Gainey

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

67% of people named Gainey identified as white (not Hispanic), 28% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.2% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 67%
Black (not Hispanic) 28%
Two or more races 2.2%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.7%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.3%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Gaineys

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

M.C. Gainey
American actor, born 1948

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Gainey

Gainey has the Soundex code G500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G500.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Gainey come from?: Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Mac Géibheannaigh (“son of Géibheannach”), a personal name derived from géibheannach (“fettered”).
How common is the surname Gainey?: 8,556 people in the United States had the surname Gainey in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 36,085 Americans. It ranked 4,140th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Gainey?: In the 2010 Census, 67% of people named Gainey identified as white (not Hispanic), and 28% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Gainey?: M.C. Gainey, American actor.
Where is the surname Gainey most common?: Wikidata records people named Gainey in the United States.
What type of surname is Gainey?: Gainey is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Gainey getting more or less common?: More common. 8,099 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 8,556 in 2010, up 5.6%.