The Gist surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 6,422 people carried this name — #5,419 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 45,900 people counted. That is up 5% from 6,126 in 2000.

Look up another surname

Share

In the first U.S. census, 1790

45 families named Gist, or a close spelling, were counted in 1790.

Each family is counted by its head. About 274 people lived in those households, 6.1 to a family on average. The table counts it together with 7 other spellings. The table lists white heads of families only, in the twelve states whose 1790 records survive; Virginia’s figures come from state lists of 1782–1785.

Families, by state

Pennsylvania 16
Maryland 13
South Carolina 11
Virginia 2
North Carolina 2
New York 1

U.S. Census Bureau, «A Century of Population Growth from the First Census of the United States to the Twelfth, 1790–1900» (Washington, 1909), table 111, p. 242 — public domain · names carried by at least 100 white persons in 1790.

In print

Gist in American newspapers,
1922.

Newspaper page from The Lubbock Avalanche carrying the name Gist
The Lubbock Avalanche 1922-09-30

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Gist in Australian newspapers,
1840s–1970s.

1,254 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gist. The most, 257, date from the 1910s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 2.1 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 573
Queensland 459
New South Wales 95
Tasmania 51
South Australia 49
Western Australia 21
ACT (Canberra) 4

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Gist.

Who carried it

People named Gist,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Christopher Gist
    Christopher Gist 1706–1759 · diplomat
  • Sequoyah
    Sequoyah 1770–1843 · inventor
  • Eliza Violet Gist Blair
    Eliza Violet Gist Blair 1794–1877 · journalist
  • William Henry Gist
    William Henry Gist 1807–1874 · lawyer
  • W. W. Gist
    W. W. Gist 1849– · university teacher
  • Nathaniel Gist 1733–1796 · diplomat

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Gist,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States428 records

428 records of the Gist name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 270
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 110
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 19
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 10
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 8
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 7
  • Sacramento County historic burials 2
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 1
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Tommy D. Gist

    Born 1913 in South Carolina. Enlisted 1943 at Fort Myer, Virginia; filling station attendant from Washington, D.C. U.S. Army veteran; died 1978, buried at Seven Pines National Cemetery, Virginia.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Magdalena Gist

    Arrived at New York in 1857 aboard the Nebraska from Havre, aged 23; farmer. From Hesse Nassau, Germany.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)
  3. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Tommy Emerson Gist

    Born 1939; from Durant, Oklahoma. U.S. Air Force, weapon systems officer; declared dead 1968 in North Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)

Showing 3 of 428 records for Gist in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain).

Australia58 records

58 records of the Gist name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 29
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 22
  • Queensland State Archives indexes 6
  • Ballarat Avenue of Honour, First World War 1
  1. A page of the Livre d’or of the French war dead, Paris
    Example: roll of the war dead
    War record Charles Gist

    Enlisted in 1914 with the 14th Battalion; killed in action. Honoured on the Ballarat Avenue of Honour.

    City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU)
  2. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record William Gist

    Arrived in Queensland in 1886 aboard the New Guinea, aged 19.

    Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Arthur Gist

    Retired telecom employee of Sebastopol, Victoria; died 1988.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 58 records for Gist in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Queensland State Archives (CC BY 4.0) · City of Ballarat, Avenue of Honour Plaques (CC BY 3.0 AU). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Livre d’or of the war dead, Paris, Ministère des pensions, Archives nationales (CC0); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain).

Netherlands9 records

9 records of the Gist name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 5
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 3
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Jannitje Gist

    Married in 1697 in Alkmaar.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Archief Alkmaar (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Maria Hubertina Gist

    Born 1823 in Maastricht.

    Open Archives, Regionaal Historisch Centrum Limburg (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Christiaan Johannes Gist

    In the population register of Amsterdam; born 1861 in Amstm.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Gist in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Canada4 records

4 records of the Gist name in Canada
  • Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver 3
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Jeff Gist

    Died 1928; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.
  2. A Canadian First World War grave register card for a soldier who died of wounds in 1917
    Example: Canadian war grave register, 1917
    War record Henry Jewell James Gist

    Died in service in 1916.

    Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada.
  3. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Lucy Anne Gist

    Died 1992; buried at Mountain View Cemetery, Vancouver, British Columbia.

    City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver.

Showing 3 of 4 records for Gist in Canada.

Counts: City of Vancouver. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Vancouver. · Veterans Affairs Canada. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Canada. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0); Canadian First World War circumstances-of-death register (scan by Scottgraham87 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0).

Belgium1 record

1 record of the Gist name in Belgium Belgian population registers
  1. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Jeannette Gist

    In the population register of Aalst; "orpheline", born 1824 in Alost.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Aalst (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Gist.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Gist 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.

See the Gist volume
Scroll to Top