2000
#3,439
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,512
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.53
Uncommon Last name
Guenther
A German occupational surname referring to a player of the hurdy-gurdy, a stringed musical instrument.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,824 Americans carry the last name Guenther. That puts it at #3,664 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,666 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guenther 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
11K
1 in 31,666
Census rank
#3,664
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.4K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,439 bearers of the surname Guenther in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3664th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guenther, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guenther
The surname Guenther is of German origin and is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages, around the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the Old German personal name Gunthar, which is composed of the elements "gund" meaning "war" and "heri" meaning "army." Thus, the name Guenther initially referred to a warrior or soldier.
The name Guenther can be traced back to various regions in Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Swabia. It was often associated with noble families and knights in the medieval period. Early variations of the spelling included Gunther, Gunthar, and Gunthere.
Historical records show that the name Guenther appeared in various medieval manuscripts and chronicles. For instance, it is mentioned in the Nibelungenlied, a renowned German epic poem from the 13th century, where Gunther is the name of one of the main characters, the king of the Burgundians.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Guenther was Gunther von Schwarzburg (c. 1195-1272), a German nobleman and a prominent figure during the reign of Emperor Frederick II. Another notable figure was Gunther von Pairis (c. 1150-1220), a German cleric and historian who wrote the Ligurinus, a chronicle of the Holy Roman Empire.
In the 14th century, Gunther von Hohenstein (c. 1300-1348) was a German knight and poet who composed the famous work "Der Dohter Syon" (The Daughter of Zion). Additionally, Gunther von Arnstadt (c. 1330-1390) was a German mathematician and astronomer known for his work on calendar reform.
During the Renaissance period, Gunther von Andernach (c. 1500-1556) was a German humanist and poet who served as a personal secretary to Emperor Charles V. Another individual of note was Gunther Schulze (1545-1613), a German theologian and philosopher who taught at the University of Wittenberg.
As the name spread throughout Germany and beyond, it underwent various spelling variations, such as Günther, Gunter, and Ginter. The name also gained popularity in other Germanic-speaking regions, including the Netherlands, Austria, and Switzerland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guenther
Among Census respondents with the surname Guenther, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Guenther 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 Guenther surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.8% · 8,663
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 376
- Two or more races2.8% · 267
- Black or African American0.5% · 51
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 32
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guenther
Guenther 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
#3,621
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,809
+297 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 3.33
Rank movement Down 182 places
2020
#3,664
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,439
-370 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 3.16
Rank movement Down 43 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,439 | 9,512 | 3.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,621 | 9,809 | 3.33 | +297 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 182 places |
| 2020 | #3,664 | 9,439 | 3.16 | -370 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 43 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 Guenther 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 | #3,621 | #3,664 | -1.2% |
| Count | 9,809 | 9,439 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.33 | 3.16 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guenther bearers went from 9,809 to 9,439 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 43 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,621 to #3,664.
FAQ
Guenther surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guenther?
Name Census estimates that about 10,824 living Americans carry the surname Guenther. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,666 residents.
How common is Guenther?
Guenther ranks #3,664 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.16 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 9,439 people with the surname Guenther. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,824), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.16 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 Guenther.
Has Guenther become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guenther went from 9,809 recorded bearers to 9,439. That is a decrease of 370 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,621 to #3,664.
What does the Census say about the background of Guenther?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guenther, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Guenther in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (8,663 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guenther appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.8%), Hispanic (4.0%), Two or More Races (2.8%). 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 Guenther (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 Guenther mean?
A German occupational surname referring to a player of the hurdy-gurdy, a stringed musical instrument. 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 Guenther (3.16 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 Americans have the surname Guenther?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.