2000
#7,513
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,087
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.52
Uncommon Last name
Guan
An ancient Chinese surname referring to an official in charge of inspecting roads, buildings, and construction projects.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 11,629 Americans carry the last name Guan. That puts it at #3,442 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.39 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 29,474 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guan 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 Guan with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
12K
1 in 29,474
Census rank
#3,442
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
10K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,141 bearers of the surname Guan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.39 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3442nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guan
The surname GUAN is of Chinese origin and can be traced back to the Han Dynasty (202 BC - 220 AD). It is believed to have originated from the ancient Chinese kingdom of Guantao, located in present-day Hebei province. The name GUAN is derived from the Chinese word "guan," which means "official" or "watchman."
In ancient China, surnames were often derived from one's occupation, place of origin, or a distinguishing physical feature. The GUAN surname likely originated from individuals who held official positions or served as watchmen in the Guantao kingdom. The name has also been linked to the city of Guangzhou, formerly known as Canton, suggesting that some bearers of the surname may have hailed from that region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the GUAN surname can be found in the "Book of Tang," a historical chronicle of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD). The text mentions several individuals with the surname GUAN who held prominent positions in the imperial court.
During the Song Dynasty (960-1279 AD), the GUAN surname gained prominence with the rise of Guan Yu, a legendary warrior and general who was deified and revered as the God of War. Guan Yu (162-219 AD) was a historical figure who played a crucial role in the tumultuous Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.
Another notable figure bearing the GUAN surname was Guan Zhong (725-645 BC), a renowned statesman and philosopher during the Spring and Autumn period of ancient China. He is credited with establishing the state of Qi as a major power and is renowned for his political and philosophical teachings.
In the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 AD), Guan Hanqing (1241-1320 AD) was a celebrated playwright and author who is considered one of the greatest dramatists in Chinese literary history. His works, such as "The Injustice to Dou E" and "The Chalk Circle," are still widely studied and performed today.
During the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912 AD), Guan Guangming (1853-1926 AD) was a prominent reformer and educator who advocated for modernization and westernization in China. He played a significant role in establishing modern educational institutions and promoting Western ideas in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guan
Among Census respondents with the surname Guan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and Hispanic (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Guan 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 Guan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander96.8% · 9,815
- White1.5% · 155
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 90
- Two or more races0.5% · 55
- Black or African American0.3% · 26
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guan
Guan 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
#4,867
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,247
+3,160 bearers (+77.3%)
Per 100,000 2.46
Rank movement Up 2,646 places
2020
#3,442
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,141
+2,894 bearers (+39.9%)
Per 100,000 3.39
Rank movement Up 1,425 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,513 | 4,087 | 1.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,867 | 7,247 | 2.46 | +3,160 bearers (+77.3%) | Up 2,646 places |
| 2020 | #3,442 | 10,141 | 3.39 | +2,894 bearers (+39.9%) | Up 1,425 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 Guan 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 | #4,867 | #3,442 | 29.3% |
| Count | 7,247 | 10,141 | 39.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.46 | 3.39 | 37.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guan bearers went from 7,247 to 10,141 (+39.9% change). The surname moved up 1,425 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,867 to #3,442.
FAQ
Guan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guan?
Name Census estimates that about 11,629 living Americans carry the surname Guan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 29,474 residents.
How common is Guan?
Guan ranks #3,442 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.39 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,141 people with the surname Guan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (11,629), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.39 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.39 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Guan.
Has Guan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guan went from 7,247 recorded bearers to 10,141. That is an increase of 2,894 (+39.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,867 to #3,442.
What does the Census say about the background of Guan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guan, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 96.8%. The next largest groups are White (1.5%) and Hispanic (0.9%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Guan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.8% (9,815 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (96.8%), White (1.5%), Hispanic (0.9%). 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 Guan (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 Guan mean?
An ancient Chinese surname referring to an official in charge of inspecting roads, buildings, and construction projects. 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 Guan (3.39 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 Guan?
Find out how many people have the surname Guan on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.