2000
#9,889
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,011
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.12
Rare Last name
Guice
A French occupational surname for someone who guided travelers, derived from the Old French word "guis" meaning "guide."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,124 Americans carry the last name Guice. That puts it at #11,116 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 109,716 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guice 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
3.1K
1 in 109,716
Census rank
#11,116
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,724 bearers of the surname Guice in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11116th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guice, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.6%. The next largest groups are Black (44.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guice
The surname Guice is believed to have originated in the county of Worcestershire, England, during the late 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "guise," which means "manner" or "way." This suggests that the name may have been initially used as a nickname or descriptive term for someone with a particular demeanor or way of carrying themselves.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Guice can be found in the Hundred Rolls of Worcestershire, a census-like record compiled in 1273. This document mentions a person named Walter le Guyse, which is likely an early spelling variation of the surname Guice.
In the 14th century, the Guice family appears to have had a presence in the village of Guise, located in the county of Worcestershire. This place name may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.
During the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name Guice was John Guice, a merchant and landowner who lived in Worcestershire from 1525 to 1598. Records indicate that he was involved in the local wool trade and owned substantial property in the region.
Another significant individual with the surname Guice was William Guice, born in 1662 in Worcestershire. He was a renowned clockmaker and is credited with creating some of the finest timepieces of his era, many of which are now considered valuable antiques.
In the 18th century, the Guice family expanded their reach beyond Worcestershire, with members settling in other parts of England, such as London and the surrounding counties. One notable figure from this period was Richard Guice (1712-1788), a successful merchant and philanthropist who made significant contributions to various charitable organizations in London.
As the centuries progressed, the Guice name continued to spread across England and eventually to other parts of the world, including North America and Australia, where descendants of the original Guice family can still be found today.
Throughout its history, the surname Guice has been spelled in various ways, including Guise, Guyse, and Gwise, reflecting the evolution of language and regional dialects over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guice
Among Census respondents with the surname Guice, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.6%. The next largest groups are Black (44.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Guice 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 Guice surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White48.6% · 1,324
- Black or African American44.6% · 1,215
- Two or more races3.2% · 88
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 83
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guice
Guice 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
#10,689
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,990
-21 bearers (-0.7%)
Per 100,000 1.01
Rank movement Down 800 places
2020
#11,116
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,724
-266 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 427 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,889 | 3,011 | 1.12 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,689 | 2,990 | 1.01 | -21 bearers (-0.7%) | Down 800 places |
| 2020 | #11,116 | 2,724 | 0.91 | -266 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 427 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 Guice 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 | #10,689 | #11,116 | -4.0% |
| Count | 2,990 | 2,724 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.01 | 0.91 | -9.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guice bearers went from 2,990 to 2,724 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 427 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,689 to #11,116.
FAQ
Guice surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guice?
Name Census estimates that about 3,124 living Americans carry the surname Guice. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 109,716 residents.
How common is Guice?
Guice ranks #11,116 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.91 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,724 people with the surname Guice. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,124), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.91 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.91 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Guice.
Has Guice become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guice went from 2,990 recorded bearers to 2,724. That is a decrease of 266 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #10,689 to #11,116.
What does the Census say about the background of Guice?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guice, the largest self-reported group is White at 48.6%. The next largest groups are Black (44.6%) and Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Guice in the 2020 Census, accounting for 48.6% (1,324 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guice appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (48.6%), Black (44.6%), Two or More Races (3.2%). 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 Guice (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 Guice mean?
A French occupational surname for someone who guided travelers, derived from the Old French word "guis" meaning "guide." 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 Guice (0.91 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 common is the surname Guice?
If you just want to know how many people are called Guice, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.