Explore the Family Name Gentle

The meaning of Gentle

English (southern): nickname from Middle English, Old French gentil ‘high born, noble’ (from Latin gentilis, from gens ‘family, tribe’, itself from the root gen- ‘to be born’).

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Gentle saw an increase in popularity from 2000 to 2010. In 2000, it was the 12,045th most popular surname, but by 2010, it had risen to the 11,627th position, marking a growth of 3.47%. The count of individuals with this surname also increased from 2,378 in 2000 to 2,696 in 2010, a change of 13.37%. The proportion of people with this last name per 100,000 also grew slightly from 0.88 in 2000 to 0.91 in 2010.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#12,045	#11,627	3.47%
Count	2,378	2,696	13.37%
Proportion per 100k	0.88	0.91	3.41%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Gentle

Regarding the ethnicity of individuals bearing the surname Gentle, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows a diverse range. From 2000 to 2010, the percentage of those identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander rose from 0.76% to 0.93%, and the representation of those identifying as Black increased from 20.77% to 23.96%. However, there was a notable shift within other ethnic identities. Those identifying as two or more races decreased from 2.48% to 1.67%, and the proportion of those identifying as White dropped from 73.51% to 68.32%. Interestingly, individuals identifying as Hispanic nearly doubled from 2.23% to 4.23%, while the American Indian and Alaskan Native category saw an impressive increase from 0.25% to 0.89%.

	2000	2010	Change
White	73.51%	68.32%	-7.06%
Black	20.77%	23.96%	15.36%
Hispanic	2.23%	4.23%	89.69%
Two or More Races	2.48%	1.67%	-32.66%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0.76%	0.93%	22.37%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0.25%	0.89%	256%