2000
#12,393
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,298
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Guardiola
A Basque occupational surname referring to a watchman, guard, or guardian.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,201 Americans carry the last name Guardiola. That puts it at #10,903 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 107,077 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guardiola 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
3.2K
1 in 107,077
Census rank
#10,903
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,791 bearers of the surname Guardiola in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10903rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guardiola, 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 Guardiola
The surname Guardiola originated in Spain, likely during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "guardia," meaning "guard" or "watchman," and the diminutive suffix "-ola," which denotes a smaller or lesser form. The name may have been given to someone who worked as a guard or watchman, or perhaps lived near a guardhouse or watchtower.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Guardiola can be found in the Catalonian region of Spain, where it was prevalent in the 13th and 14th centuries. The name is also found in various historical records from the Kingdom of Aragon and the Crown of Castile during this time period.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Joan Guardiola was a prominent merchant and diplomat from Barcelona. He was involved in trade negotiations with other Mediterranean powers and was instrumental in establishing economic ties between Spain and the Italian city-states.
Another early bearer of the name was Pedro Guardiola, a Spanish soldier and explorer from the 16th century. He accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to the New World and is believed to have participated in the conquest of Mexico.
During the 17th century, the Guardiola family produced several notable figures in the arts and literature. Juan Bautista Guardiola was a renowned painter from Seville, known for his religious works and portraits. His contemporary, Antonio Guardiola, was a playwright and poet who wrote several well-received comedies and verse plays.
In the 19th century, José Guardiola was a Spanish politician and statesman who served as a member of the Cortes Generales (the Spanish parliament) and held various ministerial positions during the turbulent years of the Carlist Wars.
Another notable individual with the surname Guardiola was Miguel Guardiola, a Spanish military officer who fought in the Spanish-American War of 1898. He was celebrated for his bravery and leadership during the Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guardiola
Among Census respondents with the surname Guardiola, 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 Guardiola 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 Guardiola surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.9% · 2,564
- White6.9% · 192
- Black or African American0.4% · 12
- Two or more races0.4% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guardiola
Guardiola 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
#11,010
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,889
+591 bearers (+25.7%)
Per 100,000 0.98
Rank movement Up 1,383 places
2020
#10,903
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,791
-98 bearers (-3.4%)
Per 100,000 0.93
Rank movement Up 107 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,393 | 2,298 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,010 | 2,889 | 0.98 | +591 bearers (+25.7%) | Up 1,383 places |
| 2020 | #10,903 | 2,791 | 0.93 | -98 bearers (-3.4%) | Up 107 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 Guardiola 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 | #11,010 | #10,903 | 1.0% |
| Count | 2,889 | 2,791 | -3.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.98 | 0.93 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guardiola bearers went from 2,889 to 2,791 (-3.4% change). The surname moved up 107 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,010 to #10,903.
FAQ
Guardiola surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guardiola?
Name Census estimates that about 3,201 living Americans carry the surname Guardiola. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 107,077 residents.
How common is Guardiola?
Guardiola ranks #10,903 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.93 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,791 people with the surname Guardiola. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,201), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.93 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.93 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Guardiola.
Has Guardiola become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guardiola went from 2,889 recorded bearers to 2,791. That is a decrease of 98 (-3.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #11,010 to #10,903.
What does the Census say about the background of Guardiola?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guardiola, 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 Guardiola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (2,564 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guardiola 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 Guardiola (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 Guardiola mean?
A Basque occupational surname referring to a watchman, guard, or guardian. 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 Guardiola (0.93 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 share the surname Guardiola?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.