The Gaye surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 1,616 people carried this name — #17,447 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 181,800 people counted. That is up 80% from 900 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Gaye surname
Spelling variant of Gay.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Gaye» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 838 people named Gaye.
105 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 59 départements, most often Hautes-Pyrénées.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 176 people named Gaye 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 Brussels-Capital.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
78 people named Gaye live in Switzerland.
They live in 10 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 42 people named Gaye live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
155 people named Gaye are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Gaye in American newspapers,
1900–1961.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 27,753 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Gaye,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Howard Gaye 1878–1955 · screenwriter -
Gregory Gaye 1900–1993 · actor -
Lisa Gaye 1935–2016 · actor -
Marvin Gaye 1939–1984 · composer -
Frankie Gaye 1941–2001 · singer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 62 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Gaye.
- Gawronski 1,080 · U.S. census
- Gay 32,025 · U.S. census
- Gaya 196 · U.S. census
- Gayan 178 · U.S. census
- Gayda 353 · U.S. census
- Gaydon 283 · U.S. census
- Gayer 1,365 · U.S. census
- Gayon 120 · U.S. census
- Gayton 2,557 · U.S. census
- Gazarian 144 · U.S. census
- Gaze 146 · U.S. census
- Gazelle 115 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Gaye 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.