Explore the Family Name Gains

The meaning of Gains

English: variant of Gaines.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Gains in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Gains experienced a slight decline from 2000 to 2010. The rank of the surname dropped from 22,973 in 2000 to 24,049 in 2010, indicating a decrease in popularity by 4.68 percent. Despite this drop in rank, the actual count of individuals bearing the Gains surname increased slightly from 1,040 in 2000 to 1,048 in 2010, an increase of 0.77 percent. However, as a proportion per 100,000 people, the representation of the name decreased by 7.69 percent.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#22,973	#24,049	-4.68%
Count	1,040	1,048	0.77%
Proportion per 100k	0.39	0.36	-7.69%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Gains

The Decennial U.S. Census also provides information on the ethnic identity associated with the Gains surname. Between 2000 and 2010, there was a noticeable shift in the distribution of ethnicity. While the percentage of those identifying as white rose by 9.90 percent to reach 50.19 percent, the proportion of those identifying as black decreased by 18.88 percent to represent 40.17 percent of the total. Interestingly, those identifying as Hispanic saw a significant increase of 127.27 percent, albeit from a small base, to account for 5.25 percent. The category of two or more races also saw an increase from 1.35 percent to 2.67 percent. For the first time in 2010, Asian/Pacific Islander and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities were represented within the Gains surname group, although their proportions remained below 1.15 percent and 0.57 percent respectively.

	2000	2010	Change
White	45.67%	50.19%	9.9%
Black	49.52%	40.17%	-18.88%
Hispanic	2.31%	5.25%	127.27%
Two or More Races	1.35%	2.67%	97.78%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	1.15%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0.57%	0%