2000
#2,677
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,407
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.60
Uncommon Last name
Girard
A French occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of darts, arrows, or crossbow bolts.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 13,913 Americans carry the last name Girard. That puts it at #2,891 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 24,636 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Girard 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Girard with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
14K
1 in 24,636
Census rank
#2,891
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
12K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,133 bearers of the surname Girard in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2891st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Girard, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Girard
The surname Girard originated in France and is derived from the Germanic personal name Gerard, which is composed of the elements "gair" meaning spear and "hard" meaning hardy or brave. The name first appeared in records during the early Middle Ages, around the 6th or 7th century.
Girard was a popular name among the Franks and later the Normans, who brought the name to England after the Norman Conquest in 1066. The name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Girard was in the 11th century, when a Norman knight named Girard de Rouville accompanied William the Conqueror to England. Girard de Rouville later became a landowner in Warwickshire.
In the 12th century, another notable bearer of the name was Girard de Cambrai, a French trouvère and poet. He was born around 1150 and is known for his courtly love poems and chansons de geste.
During the 13th century, a Benedictine monk named Girard de Montreuil served as the abbot of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Paris from 1238 to 1260.
In the 15th century, Jean Girard (1436-1503) was a French philosopher and theologian who taught at the University of Paris and wrote extensively on logic and metaphysics.
Another prominent figure with the surname Girard was the French writer and philosopher René Girard (1923-2015), who developed the theory of mimetic desire and was a significant influence on literary criticism and religious studies.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Girard
Among Census respondents with the surname Girard, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Girard 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 Girard surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White88.7% · 10,764
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 469
- Two or more races3.5% · 429
- Black or African American2.6% · 320
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 96
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 55
Timeline
Historical Census data for Girard
Girard 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
#2,778
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,975
+568 bearers (+4.6%)
Per 100,000 4.40
Rank movement Down 101 places
2020
#2,891
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,133
-842 bearers (-6.5%)
Per 100,000 4.06
Rank movement Down 113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,677 | 12,407 | 4.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,778 | 12,975 | 4.40 | +568 bearers (+4.6%) | Down 101 places |
| 2020 | #2,891 | 12,133 | 4.06 | -842 bearers (-6.5%) | Down 113 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 Girard 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 | #2,778 | #2,891 | -4.1% |
| Count | 12,975 | 12,133 | -6.5% |
| Per 100K | 4.40 | 4.06 | -7.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Girard bearers went from 12,975 to 12,133 (-6.5% change). The surname moved down 113 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,778 to #2,891.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Girard
FAQ
Girard surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Girard?
Name Census estimates that about 13,913 living Americans carry the surname Girard. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 24,636 residents.
How common is Girard?
Girard ranks #2,891 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.06 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,133 people with the surname Girard. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (13,913), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.06 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Girard.
Has Girard become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Girard went from 12,975 recorded bearers to 12,133. That is a decrease of 842 (-6.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,778 to #2,891.
What does the Census say about the background of Girard?
Among Census respondents with the surname Girard, the largest self-reported group is White at 88.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.9%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Girard in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (10,764 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Girard appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (88.7%), Hispanic (3.9%), Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Girard (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 Girard mean?
A French occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of darts, arrows, or crossbow bolts. 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 Girard (4.06 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 common is the surname Girard?
Find out how many people have the last name Girard on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.