Find out how popular the last name Guggenheim is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Guggenheim.

Guggenheim, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Guggenheim surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Guggenheim in America

Guggenheim is the 42790th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Guggenheim surname appeared 506 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Guggenheim.

We can also compare 2010 data for Guggenheim to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Guggenheim

The surname Guggenheim has its origins in the German language and can be traced back to the late Middle Ages. It is believed to have originated in the town of Gugging, located in the present-day state of Bavaria, Germany. The name is thought to be derived from the Germanic word "Gug," which means "protruding" or "projecting," and "heim," meaning "home" or "homestead." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived on or near a prominent hill or outcrop.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Guggenheim name can be found in a document from the 14th century, where a certain "Conradus Guggenheim" is mentioned as a resident of the town of Gugging. In the following centuries, the name appears in various records and manuscripts throughout different regions of Germany and neighboring areas.

The Guggenheim name gained particular prominence in the 19th and 20th centuries, with several notable individuals bearing this surname. One of the most well-known figures is Meyer Guggenheim (1828-1905), a Swiss-American businessman who amassed a fortune in the mining industry and founded the Guggenheim family empire. His son, Benjamin Guggenheim (1865-1912), was a businessman and philanthropist who perished aboard the ill-fated RMS Titanic.

Another prominent Guggenheim was Solomon R. Guggenheim (1861-1949), an American businessman and art collector who founded the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum in New York City. The museum's iconic building, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, is a landmark of modern architecture and a renowned cultural institution.

In the realm of science, Robert Guggenheim (1899-1959) was a Swiss-American physicist and chemist who made significant contributions to the field of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. He also worked on the Manhattan Project during World War II.

Peggy Guggenheim (1898-1979), a renowned art collector and patron of the arts, was another notable member of the Guggenheim family. Her collection formed the basis of the Peggy Guggenheim Collection, a modern art museum located in Venice, Italy.

Throughout its history, the Guggenheim surname has been associated with various place names and older spellings. For example, the town of Gugging was also known as "Gugingen" or "Gugingen bei Wien" in earlier records, reflecting the evolution of the name's spelling over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Guggenheim

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Guggenheim.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Guggenheim was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Guggenheim has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Guggenheim was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Guggenheim, please contact us.

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