2000
#127,948
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 123
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Guiel
A surname derived from a diminutive form of the given name Guillaume or William.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Guiel. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guiel 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Guiel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guiel
The surname GUIEL is believed to have originated in the region of Normandy, France. It is thought to be a variant spelling of the French surname "Guillet," which itself is derived from the Germanic personal name "Wilihelm" or "Wilhelm." This name is composed of the elements "wil" meaning "will" or "desire" and "helm" meaning "protection" or "helmet."
The earliest known record of the surname GUIEL can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landowners and their holdings commissioned by William the Conqueror after the Norman conquest of England. The name is listed as "Guiel" in this document, suggesting that the spelling variation was already in use at that time.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname GUIEL was Jean GUIEL, who lived in the village of Bréhal, Normandy, in the late 13th century. Records from this period indicate that he was a landowner and farmer in the region.
In the 15th century, a notable figure with the surname GUIEL was Philippe GUIEL, a French soldier and military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He was born around 1410 and served under the leadership of Joan of Arc during the Siege of Orléans in 1429.
Another prominent individual with the GUIEL surname was François GUIEL, a French lawyer and legal scholar who lived in the 16th century. He was born in Paris in 1538 and authored several influential works on French civil law and jurisprudence.
In the 17th century, the GUIEL surname can be found in the records of the French colony of Acadia, which is now part of eastern Canada. One example is Marie GUIEL, who was born in Port-Royal, Acadia (present-day Nova Scotia) in 1671. She married a fellow colonist named Jean Boudreau, and their descendants helped establish the Acadian communities in the region.
During the 18th century, a notable figure with the GUIEL surname was Jean-Baptiste GUIEL, a French architect and engineer. He was born in Lyon in 1720 and is best known for his work on the construction of several churches and public buildings in the city.
Throughout its history, the GUIEL surname has maintained a strong presence in France, with pockets of families also found in other parts of Europe and in various French colonies around the world. While the spelling and pronunciation may have evolved over time, the name's origins can be traced back to the Germanic roots of the Normandy region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guiel
Among Census respondents with the surname Guiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Guiel 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 Guiel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White92.7% · 102
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
- Black or African American1.8% · 2
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guiel
Guiel 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
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-14 bearers (-11.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,504 places
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+1 bearers (+0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,006 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #127,948 | 123 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | -14 bearers (-11.4%) | Down 22,504 places |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +1 bearers (+0.9%) | Up 1,006 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 Guiel 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 | #150,452 | #149,446 | 0.7% |
| Count | 109 | 110 | 0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guiel bearers went from 109 to 110 (+0.9% change). The surname moved up 1,006 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #149,446.
FAQ
Guiel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guiel?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Guiel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Guiel?
Guiel ranks #149,446 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 110 people with the surname Guiel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), 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 Guiel.
Has Guiel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guiel went from 109 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 1 (+0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #150,452 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Guiel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guiel, the largest self-reported group is White at 92.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Black (1.8%). 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 Guiel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guiel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (92.7%), Hispanic (2.7%), Black (1.8%). 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 Guiel (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 Guiel mean?
A surname derived from a diminutive form of the given name Guillaume or William. 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 Guiel (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 Guiel?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.