Find out how popular the last name Guajardo is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Guajardo.

Guajardo, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Guajardo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Guajardo in America

Guajardo is the 2679th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Guajardo surname appeared 13,438 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Guajardo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Guajardo to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Guajardo

The surname Guajardo has its origins in Spain, specifically in the northern region of Cantabria. It is believed to have derived from the Old Spanish word "guajar," which means "to cut vegetation." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked as a woodcutter or cleared land for agricultural purposes.

In the 12th century, the name appears in several historical records from the Kingdom of Castile, such as the Becerro de las Behetrías, a document that listed the landowners and their properties. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Juan Guajardo, who was mentioned in a document from the city of Santander in 1215.

The name also has a connection to certain place names in Spain, particularly in the regions of Cantabria and Asturias. For example, there is a village called Guajardo in the municipality of Camaleño, Cantabria, which may have taken its name from a person with the surname Guajardo.

As the Spanish colonization of the Americas began in the 16th century, the name Guajardo spread to various parts of the New World, including Mexico and other Latin American countries. One notable figure with this surname was Juan Guajardo Fajardo (1552-1633), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Chile and later became the governor of the city of Concepción.

Another significant individual with the Guajardo surname was Pedro Guajardo Fajardo (1600-1674), a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Chile from 1648 to 1649. He played a crucial role in the defense of the colony against the Mapuche resistance.

In the 19th century, Bernardo Guajardo (1812-1887) was a Mexican politician and general who fought in the Mexican-American War and later served as the governor of the state of Nuevo León.

More recently, Eugenio Garza Guajardo (1857-1940) was a Mexican businessman and philanthropist who founded the Garza Guajardo Group, one of the largest conglomerates in Latin America.

Lastly, Alejandro Guajardo (1932-2015) was a Mexican artist known for his abstract expressionist paintings and sculptures. He was recognized as one of the most influential figures in the Mexican art scene of the 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Guajardo

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Guajardo.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Guajardo was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Guajardo has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Guajardo was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Guajardo, please contact us.

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