2000
#2,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,143
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.13
Uncommon Last name
Guajardo
A Spanish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "fortress on a mountain pass."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 15,060 Americans carry the last name Guajardo. That puts it at #2,678 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.39 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 22,759 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guajardo 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
15K
1 in 22,759
Census rank
#2,678
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 13,133 bearers of the surname Guajardo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.39 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2678th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guajardo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.9%) and Black (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guajardo
Among Census respondents with the surname Guajardo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.9%) and Black (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Guajardo 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 Guajardo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.9% · 12,075
- White6.9% · 906
- Black or African American0.4% · 48
- Two or more races0.4% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guajardo
Guajardo 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
#2,679
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,438
+2,295 bearers (+20.6%)
Per 100,000 4.56
Rank movement Up 292 places
2020
#2,678
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,133
-305 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 4.39
Rank movement Up 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,971 | 11,143 | 4.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,679 | 13,438 | 4.56 | +2,295 bearers (+20.6%) | Up 292 places |
| 2020 | #2,678 | 13,133 | 4.39 | -305 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 1 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 Guajardo 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 | #2,679 | #2,678 | 0.0% |
| Count | 13,438 | 13,133 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 4.56 | 4.39 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guajardo bearers went from 13,438 to 13,133 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,679 to #2,678.
FAQ
Guajardo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guajardo?
Name Census estimates that about 15,060 living Americans carry the surname Guajardo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 22,759 residents.
How common is Guajardo?
Guajardo ranks #2,678 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.39 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 13,133 people with the surname Guajardo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (15,060), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.39 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.39 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 Guajardo.
Has Guajardo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guajardo went from 13,438 recorded bearers to 13,133. That is a decrease of 305 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,679 to #2,678.
What does the Census say about the background of Guajardo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guajardo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.9%) and Black (0.4%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Guajardo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (12,075 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guajardo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (91.9%), White (6.9%), Black (0.4%). 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 Guajardo (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 Guajardo mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "fortress on a mountain pass." 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 Guajardo (4.39 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 people have the last name Guajardo?
See how many people have the last name Guajardo on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.