2000
#106,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 155
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.06
Very Rare Last name
Ghiz
A surname derived from the Turkish word "ghiz" meaning "maiden" or "virgin".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 164 Americans carry the last name Ghiz. That puts it at #125,732 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,089,965 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ghiz surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
164
1 in 2,089,965
Census rank
#125,732
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
143
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 143 bearers of the surname Ghiz in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 125732nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ghiz, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ghiz
The surname GHIZ is believed to have originated in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Italian word "ghizzo," meaning "sprightly" or "lively," suggesting that the name may have initially been a nickname for someone with a spirited or energetic demeanor.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GHIZ can be found in a medieval document from the city of Milan, dated around 1250. This document mentions a certain Guglielmo Ghiz, a merchant and landowner in the region.
Throughout the 13th and 14th centuries, the GHIZ surname appears to have spread to other parts of Italy, with records indicating families bearing this name in cities such as Genoa, Florence, and Venice. The name was often spelled with slight variations, such as Ghizzi, Ghizzo, or Ghizzone.
In the 15th century, the GHIZ family gained prominence in the city of Ferrara, where a nobleman named Ercole Ghiz (1425-1497) served as a diplomatic envoy for the Este family, rulers of the city-state. Ercole's son, Galeazzo Ghiz (1460-1524), was a renowned humanist scholar and poet.
Another notable figure with the GHIZ surname was Francesco Ghiz (1592-1675), a Jesuit priest and mathematician from Milan. He authored several treatises on geometry and was considered a pioneering figure in the field of calculus.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the GHIZ name also gained a foothold in the Republic of Venice, where it was associated with several prominent merchant families. One such family, the Ghiz di San Polo, owned a palazzo (palace) on the Grand Canal, which still stands today.
In the 18th century, Giuseppe Ghiz (1718-1790), a painter from the city of Bergamo, gained recognition for his religious works and frescoes adorning churches throughout northern Italy.
As the centuries passed, the GHIZ surname continued to spread throughout Italy and beyond, with various branches of the family establishing themselves in different regions and pursuing diverse professions.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ghiz
Among Census respondents with the surname Ghiz, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Ghiz bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Ghiz surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White99.3% · 142
- Two or more races0.7% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ghiz
Ghiz appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#109,758
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 161
+6 bearers (+3.9%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 3,281 places
2020
#125,732
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 143
-18 bearers (-11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Down 15,974 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #106,477 | 155 | 0.06 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #109,758 | 161 | 0.05 | +6 bearers (+3.9%) | Down 3,281 places |
| 2020 | #125,732 | 143 | 0.05 | -18 bearers (-11.2%) | Down 15,974 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Ghiz surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #109,758 | #125,732 | -14.6% |
| Count | 161 | 143 | -11.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | -4.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ghiz bearers went from 161 to 143 (-11.2% change). The surname moved down 15,974 positions in the national ranking, going from #109,758 to #125,732.
FAQ
Ghiz surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ghiz?
Name Census estimates that about 164 living Americans carry the surname Ghiz. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,089,965 residents.
How common is Ghiz?
Ghiz ranks #125,732 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 143 people with the surname Ghiz. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (164), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Ghiz.
Has Ghiz become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ghiz went from 161 recorded bearers to 143. That is a decrease of 18 (-11.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #109,758 to #125,732.
What does the Census say about the background of Ghiz?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ghiz, the largest self-reported group is White at 99.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (0.7%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Ghiz in the 2020 Census, accounting for 99.3% (142 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ghiz appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (99.3%), Two or More Races (0.7%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Ghiz (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Ghiz mean?
A surname derived from the Turkish word "ghiz" meaning "maiden" or "virgin". The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Ghiz (0.05 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Ghiz?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.