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

Guilford, 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 Guilford surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Guilford in America

Guilford is the 11365th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Guilford surname appeared 2,776 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Guilford.

We can also compare 2010 data for Guilford 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 Guilford

The surname Guilford is of English origin, derived from the place name Guildford, which is a town in Surrey, England. The name Guildford is thought to have originated from the Old English words "gylde" meaning "guild" and "ford" meaning "a shallow place where a river can be crossed."

The earliest recorded spelling of the name Guilford appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it is listed as "Gildeforde." This indicates that the name has been in use since at least the late 11th century.

During the Middle Ages, the town of Guildford was an important center for wool trade and cloth manufacturing. It is likely that some individuals who lived or worked in Guildford adopted the place name as their surname.

One of the earliest recorded bearers of the surname Guilford was William de Guilford, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1198.

In the 16th century, Sir Henry Guilford (1489-1532) was a prominent figure in the court of King Henry VIII. He served as Controller of the Royal Household and was involved in the dissolution of the monasteries.

Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Edward Guilford (1568-1618), an English politician and Member of Parliament during the reign of King James I.

Francis North, 6th Baron Guilford (1637-1685), was an English lawyer and judge who served as Lord Keeper of the Great Seal during the reign of King Charles II.

In the late 18th century, John Guilford (1766-1828) was an English architect and surveyor who designed several buildings in London, including the Royal Opera House.

The surname Guilford has also been associated with places named after the town of Guildford, such as Guilford County in North Carolina, United States, and Guilford, Connecticut.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Guilford

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

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 Guilford 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 Guilford 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 Guilford was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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