How common is the surname Gaye?

1,616 people in the United States had the surname Gaye in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 191,055 Americans. It ranked 17,447th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Gaye?

Marvin Gaye, American R&B and soul singer (1939–1984), followed by Nona Gaye.

Where is the surname Gaye most common?

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

Is the surname Gaye getting more or less common?

More common. 900 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 1,616 in 2010, up 80%.

Is Gaye also a first name?

Yes. Gaye is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Gaye

A nickname surname, carried by 1,616 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex G000 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Gaye is more common than 89.2% of them.

Origin

Spelling variant of Gay.

Gaye is a nickname surname: from a description or nickname of an ancestor.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 1,616 people named Gaye in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 191,055 Americans. That is up 80% since 2000, when the Census counted 900.

#17,447

rank among US surnames

1,616

people in 2010

0.6

per 100,000 Americans

+79.6%

change since 2000 (was #25,724)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#17,441	Canipe	1,617	190,937
#17,447	Gaye	1,616	191,055
#17,455	Fredericksen	1,615	191,174

Who is named Gaye

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

81% of people named Gaye identified as Black (not Hispanic), 16% as white (not Hispanic) and 1.7% as two or more races.

Black (not Hispanic) 81%
White (not Hispanic) 16%
Two or more races 1.7%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 1.4%

The Census suppresses very small shares to protect privacy; Asian & Pacific Islander, Native American are not shown.

Compare: most common surnames among Black Americans.

Famous Gayes

5 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Marvin Gaye
American R&B and soul singer (1939–1984)
Nona Gaye
American actress, born 1974
Gregory Gaye
Actor (1900-1993)
Lisa Gaye
American actress, singer, and dancer (1935–2016)
Howard Gaye
British actor (1878-1955)

Notable Gayes come mostly from the United States (4) and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Gaye

Gaye has the Soundex code G000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G000.

Questions

Where does the surname Gaye come from?: Spelling variant of Gay.
How common is the surname Gaye?: 1,616 people in the United States had the surname Gaye in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 191,055 Americans. It ranked 17,447th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Gaye?: In the 2010 Census, 81% of people named Gaye identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 16% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Gaye?: Marvin Gaye, American R&B and soul singer (1939–1984), followed by Nona Gaye.
Where is the surname Gaye most common?: Wikidata records people named Gaye in the United States and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
What type of surname is Gaye?: Gaye is a nickname surname, from a description or nickname of an ancestor.
Is the surname Gaye getting more or less common?: More common. 900 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 1,616 in 2010, up 80%.
Is Gaye also a first name?: Yes. Gaye is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.