# Gaye (surname)

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

A surname transferred from the nickname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | nickname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 1,616 |
| US rank (2010) | 17,447 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 191,055 people |
| Change since 2000 | +80% (900 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Spelling variant of Gay.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Gaye 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) | 16% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 81% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 1.4% |
| Two or more races | 1.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Gaye in the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

## People named Gaye

- Marvin Gaye, American R&B and soul singer (1939–1984)
- Nona Gaye, American actress
- Gregory Gaye, actor (1900-1993)
- Lisa Gaye, American actress, singer, and dancer (1935–2016)
- Howard Gaye, British actor (1878-1955)

## Similar surnames

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

## 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.