The Gervais surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,233 people carried this name — #6,488 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 56,500 people counted. That is up 6% from 4,935 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Gervais surname
Borrowed from French Gervais, from Latin Gervasius.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Gervais» (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 5,869 people named Gervais.
106 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 100 départements, most often Paris.
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
69 people named Gervais live in Switzerland.
They live in 8 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
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 Belgium’s population register
At least 65 people named Gervais 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 Hainaut.
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.
In print
Gervais in American newspapers,
1925–1926.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 18,500 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Gervais,
with a public archive behind them.
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Francis Gervais d. 2022 · lawyer
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Henri Auguste Gervais d'Aldin d. 1910
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Mary Elizabeth Gervais d. 1771
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John Gervais 1200–1268 · Catholic priest
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Charles-Hubert Gervais 1671–1744 · composer
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Elias Gervais 1721–1791 · stampcutter
Wikidata (CC0) · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Gervais.
- Gerson 2,439 · U.S. census
- Gerst 1,913 · U.S. census
- Gerster 337 · U.S. census
- Gerstner 2,038 · U.S. census
- Gerthoffer 109 · U.S. census
- Gertz 2,018 · U.S. census
- Gervasi 1,311 · U.S. census
- Gervasoni 145 · U.S. census
- Gerwig 786 · U.S. census
- Gery 514 · U.S. census
- Geschwind 196 · U.S. census
- Gesell 925 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Gervais 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.