Guerline
A feminine French name meaning "little warrior" or "little fighter".
Name Census estimates that about 52 living Americans carry the first name Guerline. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Guerline today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Guerline births was 1982 (11 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Guerline. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Guerline. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
52
~ 1 in 6,591,430 Americans
Peak year
1982
11 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
1995 SSA rank
#14,216
Tracked since 1982
Census
Guerline in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 863 people with the first name Guerline, which placed it at #13,850 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#13,850
National first-name rank
People counted
863
863 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
95.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guerline
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Guerline is Black at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.4%) and White (0.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Guerline described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Guerline at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American95.8% · 827
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 12
- White0.9% · 8
- Two or more races0.9% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Popularity
Guerline: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Guerline from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 39 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Guerline remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Guerline by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Guerline during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Guerlines live
Origin
Meaning and history of Guerline
The name Guerline originates from the Haitian Creole language, which is a French-based creole spoken in Haiti. It is a combination of two words: "gue," which means "war," and "line," which means "line" or "lineage." The name likely emerged in the late 18th or early 19th century during the Haitian Revolution, when Haiti gained its independence from France after a successful slave uprising.
Guerline is believed to have been a name given to female children born during this pivotal period in Haitian history, symbolizing their connection to the struggle for freedom and their warrior heritage. The name may have been inspired by the brave women who fought alongside the male revolutionaries, known as the "Mulatresses of Congo Shongo," who played a crucial role in the Haitian Revolution.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Guerline can be traced back to the early 19th century, when a woman named Guerline Loisseau (1805-1882) gained recognition as a prominent educator and advocate for women's rights in Haiti. She established one of the first schools for girls in the country and worked tirelessly to promote educational opportunities for Haitian women.
Another notable figure with the name Guerline was Guerline Honorine (1856-1931), a Haitian artist and painter known for her vibrant and expressive works depicting Haitian culture and rural life. Her paintings captured the essence of Haitian traditions and helped to preserve and celebrate the country's rich artistic heritage.
In the 20th century, Guerline Mathieu (1920-2005) made a significant impact as a Haitian novelist and playwright. Her works explored themes of identity, social injustice, and the struggles of the Haitian people. She is widely regarded as one of the most influential and pioneering voices in Haitian literature.
Guerline Delecour (1932-2011) was a renowned Haitian dancer and choreographer who dedicated her life to preserving and promoting Haitian folk dance traditions. She founded the acclaimed dance company, Les Ballet Africains, and worked tirelessly to showcase the beauty and diversity of Haitian dance on international stages.
Another notable figure was Guerline Seynhaeve (1938-2019), a Haitian-American artist and sculptor. Her intricate and thought-provoking sculptures often explored themes of identity, spirituality, and the human condition. Her works have been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world, showcasing the talent and creativity of Haitian artists on a global scale.
People
Guerline + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Guerline as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with G
Other first names starting with G with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Guerline: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Guerline?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 52 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Guerline going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 6,591,430 US residents.
Is Guerline a common name?
We classify Guerline as "Very Rare". It ranks above 54.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 55 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Guerline most popular?
The single biggest year for Guerline was 1982, when 11 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Guerline is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Guerline in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 863 people with the name Guerline, or 0.29 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #13,850 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Guerline in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Guerline?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Guerline appears almost entirely female. Of the 855 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Guerline?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Guerline is Black at 95.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (1.4%) and White (0.9%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Guerline most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Guerline in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.8% (827 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Guerline in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Guerline a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Guerline in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Guerline still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Guerline in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Guerline can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Guerline?
See how many people have the name Guerline on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.