# Gaw (surname)

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

A surname from Scottish Gaelic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Scottish Gaelic |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 1,731 |
| US rank (2010) | 16,575 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 178,363 people |
| Change since 2000 | -1.3% (1,753 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Scottish Gaelic gall (“foreigner or stranger”), meaning: * (Ireland) a person from Wales or England who immigrated after the Norman invasion, or * (Scotland) a person from Scandinavia or the English-speaking lowlands.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Gaw 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) | 71% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 23% |
| Two or more races | 2.5% |

## Similar surnames

Gay, Gao, Gau, Guy, Gee, Guo, Gu, Go, Guay, Gioia, Ge, Gow.

## 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.