2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Guarna
An Italian surname referring to someone from the town of Guarna in Salerno.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 115 Americans carry the last name Guarna. That puts it at #155,682 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,980,473 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guarna 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
115
1 in 2,980,473
Census rank
#155,682
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
100
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 100 bearers of the surname Guarna in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 155682nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guarna, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and Black (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guarna
The surname Guarna originated in Italy, specifically in the region of Lombardy. Its roots can be traced back to the 12th century, derived from the medieval Italian word "guarna," which means "fur" or "pelt." This suggests that the name was likely initially bestowed upon individuals who worked as furriers or dealt in the fur trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Guarna can be found in the "Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis," a collection of medieval documents from the Cava de' Tirreni monastery in Campania, Italy. In this manuscript, a certain "Guarna de Mediolano" (Guarna of Milan) is mentioned in the year 1170.
Another historical reference to the name Guarna appears in the "Liber Iurium Reipublicae Genuensis," a compilation of legal documents from the Republic of Genoa, dating back to the 13th century. Here, a "Guarna de Castello" is listed among the citizens of Genoa.
The earliest known individual bearing the surname Guarna was Guarna di Montebelluna, a nobleman and military leader from the town of Montebelluna in the Venetian region. He lived in the late 12th century and is recorded as having participated in the Crusades.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Guarna de Braganza is mentioned in the "Annales Estenses," a historical chronicle of the Este family, rulers of the city of Ferrara. Guarna de Braganza held a position of importance in the court of the Este family.
Another prominent individual with the surname Guarna was Francesco Guarna, a Renaissance humanist and philosopher who lived in the 15th century. He was born in Salerno, Italy, around 1420 and is known for his works on rhetoric and classical literature.
In the 16th century, a painter named Guarna di Montebelluna gained recognition for his religious artworks, particularly those commissioned by churches and monasteries in the Veneto region of Italy. He was born in Montebelluna around 1510 and died in Venice in 1585.
The surname Guarna also has connections to the town of Guarna, located in the province of Pavia, Lombardy. This place name is believed to be derived from the same root as the surname, further reinforcing the association with the fur trade or the presence of furriers in the area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guarna
Among Census respondents with the surname Guarna, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and Black (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Guarna 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 Guarna surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.0% · 90
- Two or more races7.0% · 7
- Black or African American2.0% · 2
- Hispanic or Latino1.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guarna
Guarna 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
#135,593
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124
+15 bearers (+13.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 5,163 places
2020
#155,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 100
-24 bearers (-19.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 20,089 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #135,593 | 124 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+13.8%) | Up 5,163 places |
| 2020 | #155,682 | 100 | 0.03 | -24 bearers (-19.4%) | Down 20,089 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 Guarna 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 | #135,593 | #155,682 | -14.8% |
| Count | 124 | 100 | -19.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -16.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guarna bearers went from 124 to 100 (-19.4% change). The surname moved down 20,089 positions in the national ranking, going from #135,593 to #155,682.
FAQ
Guarna surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guarna?
Name Census estimates that about 115 living Americans carry the surname Guarna. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,980,473 residents.
How common is Guarna?
Guarna ranks #155,682 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 100 people with the surname Guarna. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (115), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Guarna.
Has Guarna become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guarna went from 124 recorded bearers to 100. That is a decrease of 24 (-19.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #135,593 to #155,682.
What does the Census say about the background of Guarna?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guarna, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.0%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (7.0%) and Black (2.0%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Guarna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (90 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guarna appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.0%), Two or More Races (7.0%), Black (2.0%). 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 Guarna (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 Guarna mean?
An Italian surname referring to someone from the town of Guarna in Salerno. 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 Guarna (0.03 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 surname Guarna?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.