How common is the surname Gorman?

31,788 people in the United States had the surname Gorman in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,713 Americans. It ranked 1,100th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Gorman?

Amanda Gorman, American poet and activist (born 1998), followed by Burn Gorman.

Where is the surname Gorman most common?

Wikidata records people named Gorman in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 1 other country.

Is the surname Gorman getting more or less common?

More common. 31,285 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 31,788 in 2010, up 1.6%.

The surname Gorman

An Irish patronymic surname, carried by 31,788 people in the United States.

2 syllables Soundex G655

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Gorman is more common than 99.3% of them.

Origin

Irish origin

Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gormáin (“descendant of Gormán”), a personal name derived from a diminutive form of gorm (“dark blue; noble”). Compare O'Gorman.

Gorman 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 31,788 people named Gorman in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 9,713 Americans. That is up 1.6% since 2000, when the Census counted 31,285.

#1,100

rank among US surnames

31,788

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+1.6%

change since 2000 (was #1,024)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#1,091	Lake	32,104	9,617
#1,092	Lutz	32,050	9,633
#1,093	Costello	32,043	9,635
#1,094	Gay	32,025	9,641
#1,095	Guthrie	31,956	9,662
#1,096	Gallardo	31,909	9,676
#1,097	Workman	31,856	9,692

Who is named Gorman

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

90% of people named Gorman identified as white (not Hispanic), 3.6% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

White (not Hispanic) 90%
Black (not Hispanic) 3.6%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 2.0%
Two or more races 1.5%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Gormans

15 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Amanda Gorman
American poet and activist (born 1998)
Burn Gorman
British actor (born 1974)
Cliff Gorman
American actor (1936-2002)
Margaret Gorman
American beauty queen, Miss America winner (1905–1995)
James P. Gorman
American businessman, chairman and CEO of Morgan Stanley, born 1958
James Gorman
American sport shooter (1859–1929)
Tom Gorman
American tennis player, born 1946
Charles Gorman
Actor (1865-1928)
Melissa Gorman
Australian swimmer, Olympic athlete, world champion, born 1985
Willis A. Gorman
American general, politician and lawyer (1816-1876)
Arthur Pue Gorman
American politician and baseball player (1839-1906)
John R. Gorman
American Catholic bishop, 1925–2025

Notable Gormans come mostly from the United States (11), Australia (2) and the United Kingdom (1).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Gorman

Gorman has the Soundex code G655, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G655.

Other Irish surnames

All 880 Irish surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Gorman come from?: Reduced Anglicized form of Irish Ó Gormáin (“descendant of Gormán”), a personal name derived from a diminutive form of gorm (“dark blue; noble”). Compare O'Gorman.
How common is the surname Gorman?: 31,788 people in the United States had the surname Gorman in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 9,713 Americans. It ranked 1,100th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Gorman?: In the 2010 Census, 90% of people named Gorman identified as white (not Hispanic), and 3.6% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Gorman?: Amanda Gorman, American poet and activist (born 1998), followed by Burn Gorman.
Where is the surname Gorman most common?: Wikidata records people named Gorman in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom and 1 other country.
What type of surname is Gorman?: Gorman is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Gorman getting more or less common?: More common. 31,285 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 31,788 in 2010, up 1.6%.