# George (surname)

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

An English and Welsh surname originating as a patronymic.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Latin |
| Type | occupational, named after the work an ancestor did |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 128,625 |
| US rank (2010) | 235 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 2,400 people |
| Change since 2000 | +7.4% (119,778 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /dʒɔːdʒ/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

Name of an early saint, from Middle English George, from Latin Geōrgius, from Ancient Greek Γεώργῐος (Geṓrgĭos), from γεωργός (geōrgós, “farmer, earth worker”), from γῆ (gê, “earth”) (combining form γεω- (geō-)) + ἔργον (érgon, “work”) Doublet of Jorge and Geevarghese. The aircraft autopilot sense is probably from George DeBeeson, who patented an early (1931) autopilot system, and/or a reference to the expression let George do it. The Pullman porter sense derives from George Pullman, who hired Black people to staff his sleeping cars, and the patrons of the service seeing the Black people as servants of George Porter, much like how a slave was named after the master.

## Who carries it

Share of people named George 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) | 66% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 18% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 7.6% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 2.2% |
| Two or more races | 2.0% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named George in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Belgium and Nigeria.

## People named George

- Henry George, American political economist and journalist (1839–1897)
- Paul George, American basketball player (born 1990)
- Melissa George, Australian actress
- Gladys George, American actress (1904–1954)
- Brian George, British actor
- Elizabeth George, American mystery and thriller writer
- Susan George, American and French political and social scientist, activist and writer (1934-2026)
- Christopher George, American actor (1931–1983)
- Pete George, American weightlifter (1929–2021)
- Jason Winston George, American actor and model (born 1972)
- Lynda Day George, American actress
- Lowell George, American musician (1945-1979)

and 40 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Georgia, Gehrke, Gerke, Gerace, Gehrig, Grego, Gerig, Georg, Garcia, Garza, Gross, Grace.

## 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.