Gatlin is an English surname usually traced to the Old English gaedeling, meaning "companion" or "kinsman". Americans know it from Gatlinburg, the gateway town to the Great Smoky Mountains in Tennessee, which gives the name a rugged, outdoorsy ring. In the United States Gatlin rose from number 1061 in 2015 into the top 1000 in 2017, peaked at number 725 in 2022 and ranks number 1026 in 2025.