2000
#554
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 54,575
First available Census row
Per 100,000 20.23
Uncommon Last name
Guerra
An Italian and Spanish surname referring to war or a warrior, likely denoting a soldier or mercenary.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 78,444 Americans carry the last name Guerra. That puts it at #477 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 22.89 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 4,369 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guerra 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 Guerra with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
78K
1 in 4,369
Census rank
#477
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
22.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
68K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 68,407 bearers of the surname Guerra in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 22.89 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 477th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guerra, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.9%. The next largest groups are White (10.9%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guerra
The surname Guerra is of Spanish origin, derived from the Spanish word "guerra" meaning "war." It is believed to have originated as a surname in the late 12th century during the Reconquista, the period of Christian conquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.
The name was likely first adopted by individuals who participated in military campaigns or battles during this period, possibly as a descriptive surname reflecting their occupation or participation in wars. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname date back to the 13th century in regions of Spain such as Castile and Aragon.
Historical records from the Middle Ages, including tax rolls and municipal records, mention individuals with the surname Guerra, indicating its widespread use in various parts of Spain. For example, the Repartimiento de Sevilla, a document from the 13th century detailing the distribution of lands after the Reconquest of Seville, lists several individuals with the surname Guerra.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Guerra was Rodrigo Guerra, a 13th-century Spanish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Reconquista campaigns under King Alfonso X of Castile. Another notable individual was Juan Guerra, a 14th-century Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493.
In the 16th century, the surname Guerra was brought to the Americas by Spanish settlers and conquistadors, with many individuals bearing the name settling in areas such as Mexico, Peru, and Argentina. One notable figure from this period was Pedro de Guerra, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Guerra continued to be prominent in Spain and its colonies, with individuals bearing the name making significant contributions in various fields. For instance, Juan José de Guerra was a Spanish naval officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Cuba in the late 18th century.
Throughout history, the surname Guerra has been associated with military prowess, bravery, and a warrior spirit, reflecting its origins during the Reconquista era. While the name is primarily found in Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guerra
Among Census respondents with the surname Guerra, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.9%. The next largest groups are White (10.9%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Guerra 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 Guerra surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino86.9% · 59,442
- White10.9% · 7,472
- Black or African American0.9% · 619
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 412
- Two or more races0.4% · 290
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 172
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guerra
Guerra 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
#473
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 70,071
+15,496 bearers (+28.4%)
Per 100,000 23.75
Rank movement Up 81 places
2020
#477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 68,407
-1,664 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 22.89
Rank movement Down 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #554 | 54,575 | 20.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #473 | 70,071 | 23.75 | +15,496 bearers (+28.4%) | Up 81 places |
| 2020 | #477 | 68,407 | 22.89 | -1,664 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 4 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 Guerra 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 | #473 | #477 | -0.8% |
| Count | 70,071 | 68,407 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 23.75 | 22.89 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guerra bearers went from 70,071 to 68,407 (-2.4% change). The surname moved down 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #473 to #477.
FAQ
Guerra surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guerra?
Name Census estimates that about 78,444 living Americans carry the surname Guerra. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 4,369 residents.
How common is Guerra?
Guerra ranks #477 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 22.89 per 100,000 residents, which is about 23 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 68,407 people with the surname Guerra. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (78,444), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 22.89 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 22.89 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 23 of them to have the surname Guerra.
Has Guerra become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guerra went from 70,071 recorded bearers to 68,407. That is a decrease of 1,664 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #473 to #477.
What does the Census say about the background of Guerra?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guerra, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.9%. The next largest groups are White (10.9%) and Black (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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Guerra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (59,442 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guerra appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (86.9%), White (10.9%), Black (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 Guerra (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 Guerra mean?
An Italian and Spanish surname referring to war or a warrior, likely denoting a soldier or mercenary. 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 Guerra (22.89 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 Guerra?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.