2010
#144,141
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Guethle
A Germanized spelling of a topographic name for someone residing near a small stream.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 149 Americans carry the last name Guethle. That puts it at #134,631 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,300,365 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guethle 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
149
1 in 2,300,365
Census rank
#134,631
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
130
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 130 bearers of the surname Guethle in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 134631st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guethle, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guethle
The surname GUETHLE originated in Germany, likely in the late medieval period around the 13th or 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the German word "Gut," meaning "good," and may have been a nickname for someone with a positive or upright character.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, in Bavaria, where a "Hans Guethle" was listed as a resident in the 15th century. Another early reference comes from the city of Nuremberg, where a "Conrad Guethle" was mentioned in a tax record from the year 1487.
The name GUETHLE also appears in various historical documents from the regions of Swabia and Franconia, suggesting it may have been particularly prominent in these areas of southern Germany. In some cases, the name was spelled slightly differently, such as "Guetlin" or "Guetlich."
One notable historical figure with the surname GUETHLE was Johann Andreas Guethle, a German painter and engraver who lived from 1688 to 1725. He is known for his religious works and portraits, several of which can be found in churches and museums across Germany.
Another individual of note was Friedrich Guethle, a 19th-century German architect born in 1812. He designed several important buildings in his native city of Stuttgart, including the Alte Staatsgalerie, a renowned art museum.
In the 18th century, a family of GUETHLE clockmakers became quite renowned in the region of Saxony. The most famous among them was Johann Friedrich Guethle, who was born in 1729 and crafted intricate and highly sought-after timepieces.
The name GUETHLE was also found in parts of Switzerland, particularly in the city of Basel, where a "Hans Ulrich Guethle" was listed as a citizen in 1568. This suggests that the surname may have spread beyond Germany's borders at an early point.
During the 19th and early 20th centuries, several individuals with the surname GUETHLE emigrated from Germany to the United States and other parts of the world, contributing to the dispersal of the name globally.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guethle
Among Census respondents with the surname Guethle, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Guethle 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 Guethle surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 130
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guethle
Guethle appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#134,631
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 130
+15 bearers (+13.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,510 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #144,141 | 115 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #134,631 | 130 | 0.04 | +15 bearers (+13.0%) | Up 9,510 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 Guethle 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 | #144,141 | #134,631 | 6.6% |
| Count | 115 | 130 | 13.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 8.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guethle bearers went from 115 to 130 (+13.0% change). The surname moved up 9,510 positions in the national ranking, going from #144,141 to #134,631.
FAQ
Guethle surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guethle?
Name Census estimates that about 149 living Americans carry the surname Guethle. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,300,365 residents.
How common is Guethle?
Guethle ranks #134,631 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 130 people with the surname Guethle. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (149), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Guethle.
Has Guethle become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guethle went from 115 recorded bearers to 130. That is an increase of 15 (+13.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #144,141 to #134,631.
What does the Census say about the background of Guethle?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guethle, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Guethle in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (130 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guethle appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Guethle (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 Guethle mean?
A Germanized spelling of a topographic name for someone residing near a small stream. 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 Guethle (0.04 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 Guethle?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.