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

Guardia, 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 Guardia surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Guardia in America

Guardia is the 32599th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Guardia surname appeared 705 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Guardia.

We can also compare 2010 data for Guardia 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 Guardia

The surname Guardia is of Italian origin, specifically from the regions of Campania and Calabria in southern Italy. The name can be traced back to the Middle Ages, derived from the Italian word "guardia," which means "guard" or "watchman."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Guardia can be found in a document from the 13th century, where it was mentioned as "de Guardia." This suggests that the name may have been associated with individuals who served as guards or sentries, perhaps in a castle or fortified town.

During the Renaissance period, the Guardia family was prominent in the city of Naples, where they held influential positions within the local government and the clergy. In the 16th century, a notable member of the family was Pietro Guardia, a renowned painter and architect who contributed to the construction of several churches and palaces in Naples.

In the 17th century, the Guardia family expanded their reach beyond Italy. One member, Giovanni Battista Guardia, was a Jesuit missionary who traveled to South America and established several missions in what is now Argentina and Paraguay. His efforts in converting indigenous populations to Christianity earned him a place in the annals of Catholic history.

Another notable figure with the surname Guardia was Francesco Guardia, born in 1819 in Calabria. He was a revered philosopher and educator who taught at various universities in Italy and authored several influential works on ethics and political theory.

In the 20th century, a prominent member of the Guardia family was José Miguel Guardia, a politician and statesman from Costa Rica. He served as the President of Costa Rica from 1913 to 1917 and played a significant role in the country's economic and social development.

Throughout history, the surname Guardia has also been associated with various place names and locations. For instance, the town of Guardia Sanframondi in the province of Benevento, Italy, is believed to have derived its name from the Guardia family, who may have held land or positions of authority in the area during the medieval period.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Guardia

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

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 Guardia 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 Guardia 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 Guardia was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!