Explore the Family Name Gato

The meaning of Gato

Spanish and Galician: nickname from gato ‘cat’. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Rodolfo, Ana, Andres, Aurelio, Benito, Claudio, Elba, Eulogio, Felicidad, Francisco, Gilberto.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Gato has shown some interesting changes between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Gato ranked 46,000 in terms of popularity but rose to rank 43,651 by 2010, reflecting a growth of 5.11%. The total count of individuals bearing this surname also increased from 437 to 494 during this period, marking a 13.04% increase. Furthermore, the proportion of people with the surname Gato per 100,000 increased slightly from 0.16 to 0.17.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#46,000	#43,651	5.11%
Count	437	494	13.04%
Proportion per 100k	0.16	0.17	6.25%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Gato

The Decennial U.S. Census data also reveals shifts in the ethnic identity associated with the surname Gato between 2000 and 2010. The proportion of Gatos identifying as Hispanic increased by 8.17%, making up 56.68% of all Gatos in 2010. Meanwhile, the percentage of Gatos who identified as White decreased by 13.74% to 31.78%. There was a significant increase in the proportion of Gatos identifying as Black, which rose by 102.50% to reach 3.24%. Asian/Pacific Islander representation remained relatively stable, with a slight increase from 6.64% to 6.68%. The percentage of Gatos identifying with two or more races and those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native both fell to zero.

	2000	2010	Change
Hispanic	52.4%	56.68%	8.17%
White	36.84%	31.78%	-13.74%
Asian/Pacific Islander	6.64%	6.68%	0.6%
Black	1.6%	3.24%	102.5%
Two or More Races	2.52%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%