2000
#11,719
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,451
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.91
Rare Last name
Guillaume
A French surname derived from the Germanic elements "wil" (desire) and "helm" (helmet), suggesting a strong-willed warrior.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,141 Americans carry the last name Guillaume. That puts it at #8,719 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,771 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guillaume 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 Guillaume with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.1K
1 in 82,771
Census rank
#8,719
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,611 bearers of the surname Guillaume in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8719th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guillaume, the largest self-reported group is Black at 69.2%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guillaume
The surname Guillaume originated in France in the medieval period. It is derived from the French form of the Germanic name Wilhelm or William, which means "resolute protector" or "helmet protector." The name was initially used as a masculine given name before evolving into a hereditary surname.
Guillaume first appeared as a surname in northern France, particularly in the regions of Normandy, Brittany, and Picardy. The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in medieval records, such as tax rolls, census documents, and parish registers.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname Guillaume was Guillaume de Normandie, a Norman nobleman who lived in the 11th century. He was a prominent figure in the Norman conquest of England in 1066 and served as a trusted advisor to William the Conqueror.
Another notable historical figure with the surname Guillaume was Guillaume de Champeaux (c. 1070-1121), a French philosopher and theologian. He was a prominent figure in the Cathedral School of Notre Dame in Paris and is considered a key figure in the development of scholastic philosophy.
In the 13th century, Guillaume de Lorris (c. 1200-1238) was a French poet known for his work "Roman de la Rose," a significant literary work of the medieval period. The poem was later continued by Jean de Meun after Guillaume's death.
During the 14th century, Guillaume de Machaut (c. 1300-1377) was a renowned French poet, composer, and musician. He is considered one of the most important composers of the Ars Nova period and played a crucial role in the development of medieval secular music.
In the 15th century, Guillaume Dufay (c. 1397-1474) was a renowned Franco-Flemish composer and influential figure in the Burgundian School of Renaissance music. His compositions, particularly his masses and motets, played a significant role in the transition from medieval to Renaissance music.
The surname Guillaume has been found in various spellings throughout history, including Guillame, Guilaume, and Guilliaume. These variations reflect regional dialects and spelling conventions of different time periods. Additionally, the surname has been associated with certain place names, such as Guillerval and Guillerville, reflecting the geographic origins of different branches of the family.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guillaume
Among Census respondents with the surname Guillaume, the largest self-reported group is Black at 69.2%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Hispanic (3.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Guillaume 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 Guillaume surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American69.2% · 2,499
- White24.4% · 880
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 107
- Two or more races2.7% · 96
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 29
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guillaume
Guillaume 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
#9,987
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,230
+779 bearers (+31.8%)
Per 100,000 1.09
Rank movement Up 1,732 places
2020
#8,719
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,611
+381 bearers (+11.8%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Up 1,268 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,719 | 2,451 | 0.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,987 | 3,230 | 1.09 | +779 bearers (+31.8%) | Up 1,732 places |
| 2020 | #8,719 | 3,611 | 1.21 | +381 bearers (+11.8%) | Up 1,268 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 Guillaume 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 | #9,987 | #8,719 | 12.7% |
| Count | 3,230 | 3,611 | 11.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.09 | 1.21 | 10.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guillaume bearers went from 3,230 to 3,611 (+11.8% change). The surname moved up 1,268 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,987 to #8,719.
FAQ
Guillaume surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guillaume?
Name Census estimates that about 4,141 living Americans carry the surname Guillaume. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,771 residents.
How common is Guillaume?
Guillaume ranks #8,719 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.21 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 3,611 people with the surname Guillaume. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,141), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.21 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 Guillaume.
Has Guillaume become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guillaume went from 3,230 recorded bearers to 3,611. That is an increase of 381 (+11.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,987 to #8,719.
What does the Census say about the background of Guillaume?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guillaume, the largest self-reported group is Black at 69.2%. The next largest groups are White (24.4%) and Hispanic (3.0%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Guillaume in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.2% (2,499 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guillaume appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (69.2%), White (24.4%), Hispanic (3.0%). 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 Guillaume (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 Guillaume mean?
A French surname derived from the Germanic elements "wil" (desire) and "helm" (helmet), suggesting a strong-willed warrior. 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 Guillaume (1.21 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 Guillaume?
Find out how common the surname Guillaume is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.