Explore the Family Name Glad
The meaning of Glad
1. English: from a short form of the various Old English personal names with the first element glæd ‘shining, joyful’. Compare Gladwin. 2. Scandinavian and English: nickname for a cheerful person, from Scandinavian, Middle English glad ‘merry, jolly’. Compare Gladd 1. 3. Americanized form (translation into English) of French Contant or of its altered form Content, which corressponds to the English word content ‘glad’. 4. Croatian and Slovenian: nickname from glad ‘hunger’, possibly applied to a thin or poor person, or to someone with a canine appetite. Compare Gladd 3. Some characteristic forenames: Scandinavian Gudrun, Sten.
Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.
How common is the last name Glad in the United States?
Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname "Glad" has slightly decreased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it ranked as the 21,804th most popular surname, while in 2010 it fell slightly to the 22,301st position, representing a dip of 2.28%. Despite its drop in ranking, the count of individuals with this surname actually increased from 1,112 in 2000 to 1,156 in 2010, a rise of 3.96%. However, when compared to the overall population (measured in proportion per 100,000 people), the prevalence of the Glad surname also decreased by 4.88%.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #21,804 | #22,301 | -2.28% |
| Count | 1,112 | 1,156 | 3.96% |
| Proportion per 100k | 0.41 | 0.39 | -4.88% |
Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Glad
In terms of ethnic identity, the data collected during the Decennial U.S. Census reveals that those bearing the surname "Glad" are predominantly of White ethnicity, with a slight decrease from 95.14% in 2000 to 94.81% in 2010. The second most common ethnicity among people with this surname is Asian/Pacific Islander, which increased from 0% in 2000 to 1.12% in 2010. The percentage of Glads identifying as having two or more races decreased from 1.26% in 2000 to 0.52% in 2010. There was a new appearance of Hispanic ethnicity in 2010, accounting for 2.08% of the Glads, whereas none was recorded in 2000. The percentage of Black and American Indian and Alaskan Native identities among the Glads both decreased over the decade by 68.15% and 3.7% respectively.
| 2000 | 2010 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| White | 95.14% | 94.81% | -0.35% |
| Hispanic | 0% | 2.08% | 0% |
| Asian/Pacific Islander | 0% | 1.12% | 0% |
| American Indian and Alaskan Native | 1.08% | 1.04% | -3.7% |
| Two or More Races | 1.26% | 0.52% | -58.73% |
| Black | 1.35% | 0.43% | -68.15% |