The Gay surname
In the 2000 U.S. Census, 32,672 people carried this name — #974 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,260 people counted.
Free to read. No account, no sign-up.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 10,310 people named Gay.
173 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 99 départements, most often Loire.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
1,087 people named Gay live in Switzerland.
They live in 14 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Valais.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 48 people named Gay live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Flemish Brabant.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Gay.
- Gaven 162 · U.S. census
- Gavin 13,515 · U.S. census
- Gawel 943 · U.S. census
- Gawlik 1,346 · U.S. census
- Gawron 937 · U.S. census
- Gawronski 1,034 · U.S. census
- Gaya 151 · U.S. census
- Gayan 171 · U.S. census
- Gayda 390 · U.S. census
- Gaydon 275 · U.S. census
- Gaye 900 · U.S. census
- Gayer 1,466 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Gay is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.