2000
#10,611
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,771
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.03
Rare Last name
Guild
An occupational surname referring to a member or officer of a trade association or guild.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,016 Americans carry the last name Guild. That puts it at #11,459 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 113,645 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guild 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 Guild with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
3.0K
1 in 113,645
Census rank
#11,459
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,630 bearers of the surname Guild in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11459th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guild, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guild
The surname Guild originated in England during the medieval period, deriving from the Old English word 'gild' or 'gield', meaning a payment or tribute. It is thought to have initially referred to members of a trade guild or association, who would have paid fees to belong to their respective organizations.
One of the earliest records of the name can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as 'Gilde' and 'Gild'. This suggests the name was already in use by the 11th century, likely among members of various craft guilds and merchant associations in towns and cities across England.
Over time, the spelling of the name evolved, with variations such as 'Gilde', 'Gylde', and 'Guilde' appearing in historical documents from different regions. These spelling variations often reflected local dialects and scribal preferences.
In the 13th century, a notable figure bearing this surname was Richard Guild, a prominent merchant and alderman in the city of London, who was mentioned in records dating back to 1275. Another early example is John Gilde, a landowner in Somerset, who was recorded in the Subsidy Rolls of 1327.
During the 14th century, the surname Guild appeared to gain further prominence, with individuals such as William Guild, a wealthy merchant and benefactor from Stratford-upon-Avon, who was born around 1340 and left a substantial endowment to the town upon his death in 1416.
In Scotland, the name Guild is also associated with the historic town of Guildtown, now known as Arbroath, which was once a center of monastic and commercial activity. This connection is reflected in the life of James Guild, a Scottish merchant and burgess of Arbroath, who lived in the late 16th century.
Another notable figure with this surname was Samuel Guild, an English clergyman and academic who served as the Master of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, from 1660 to 1674. He was a prominent figure in the intellectual circles of his time and was known for his scholarly contributions.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the surname Guild, reflecting its origins and associations with trade, commerce, and various professions and social standings across different regions of Britain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guild
Among Census respondents with the surname Guild, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Guild 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 Guild surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.4% · 2,299
- Black or African American4.0% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 98
- Two or more races3.5% · 91
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guild
Guild 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
#11,250
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,810
+39 bearers (+1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.95
Rank movement Down 639 places
2020
#11,459
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,630
-180 bearers (-6.4%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 209 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,611 | 2,771 | 1.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,250 | 2,810 | 0.95 | +39 bearers (+1.4%) | Down 639 places |
| 2020 | #11,459 | 2,630 | 0.88 | -180 bearers (-6.4%) | Down 209 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 Guild 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 | #11,250 | #11,459 | -1.9% |
| Count | 2,810 | 2,630 | -6.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.95 | 0.88 | -7.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guild bearers went from 2,810 to 2,630 (-6.4% change). The surname moved down 209 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,250 to #11,459.
FAQ
Guild surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guild?
Name Census estimates that about 3,016 living Americans carry the surname Guild. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 113,645 residents.
How common is Guild?
Guild ranks #11,459 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.88 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 2,630 people with the surname Guild. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,016), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.88 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 Guild.
Has Guild become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guild went from 2,810 recorded bearers to 2,630. That is a decrease of 180 (-6.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,250 to #11,459.
What does the Census say about the background of Guild?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guild, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.4%. The next largest groups are Black (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Guild in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.4% (2,299 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guild appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.4%), Black (4.0%), Hispanic (3.7%). 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 Guild (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 Guild mean?
An occupational surname referring to a member or officer of a trade association or guild. 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 Guild (0.88 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 last name Guild?
See how many people have the surname Guild on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.