2000
#11,070
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,635
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Guin
French toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "white" or "blessed," or from the Welsh name Gwyn.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,782 Americans carry the last name Guin. That puts it at #12,249 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 123,204 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guin 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 Guin with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 123,204
Census rank
#12,249
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,426 bearers of the surname Guin in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12249th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guin, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guin
The surname GUIN has its origins in France, with the earliest records dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "guine," which means "wine-producing region" or "vineyard." This suggests that the name may have originated from a family who worked in the wine industry or lived in a wine-producing area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GUIN can be found in the 13th century cartulary of the Abbey of Cysoing in northern France, where a certain Jehan Guin is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction. This indicates that the name was already established in the region by that time.
In the 14th century, the name appears in various forms, such as Guin, Guyn, and Guyne, in records from the city of Bordeaux, a major wine-producing region in southwestern France. This lends further credence to the theory that the name is connected to the wine industry.
The GUIN surname can also be traced back to the village of Guin in the Haute-Garonne department of southwestern France. It is possible that the name originated from this place name, which itself may have derived from the Occitan word "guine" or a similar root.
One notable figure bearing the GUIN surname was Jean de Guin (c. 1470-1545), a French jurist and diplomat who served as the ambassador of King Francis I to the Republic of Venice. He is known for his legal treatises and his role in negotiating the Treaty of Cambrai in 1529.
Another significant individual was Jean-Baptiste Guin (1592-1663), a French Jesuit missionary who traveled to New France (present-day Canada) in the 17th century. He worked among the Huron and Algonquin peoples, contributing to the early missionary efforts in North America.
In the 18th century, Jacques Guin (1715-1786) was a French architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Hôtel de Beauvau and the Église Saint-Jacques-du-Haut-Pas.
The name GUIN also appears in historical records from other parts of Europe, such as Spain and Italy, where it may have been introduced through migration or trade connections with France.
Léon Guin (1839-1925) was a French sculptor and engraver, known for his medallions and bas-reliefs, many of which can be found in museums and public spaces in Paris and other cities.
Overall, the surname GUIN has a rich history rooted in the wine-producing regions of France, with connections to various professions and notable individuals throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guin
Among Census respondents with the surname Guin, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Hispanic (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Guin 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 Guin surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.2% · 1,994
- Black or African American6.8% · 164
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 112
- Two or more races3.8% · 92
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guin
Guin 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
#11,675
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,685
+50 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.91
Rank movement Down 605 places
2020
#12,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,426
-259 bearers (-9.6%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Down 574 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,070 | 2,635 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,675 | 2,685 | 0.91 | +50 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 605 places |
| 2020 | #12,249 | 2,426 | 0.81 | -259 bearers (-9.6%) | Down 574 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 Guin 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 | #11,675 | #12,249 | -4.9% |
| Count | 2,685 | 2,426 | -9.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.91 | 0.81 | -10.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guin bearers went from 2,685 to 2,426 (-9.6% change). The surname moved down 574 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,675 to #12,249.
FAQ
Guin surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guin?
Name Census estimates that about 2,782 living Americans carry the surname Guin. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 123,204 residents.
How common is Guin?
Guin ranks #12,249 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 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 2,426 people with the surname Guin. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,782), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 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 Guin.
Has Guin become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guin went from 2,685 recorded bearers to 2,426. That is a decrease of 259 (-9.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,675 to #12,249.
What does the Census say about the background of Guin?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guin, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (6.8%) and Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Guin in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.2% (1,994 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guin appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.2%), Black (6.8%), Hispanic (4.6%). 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 Guin (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 Guin mean?
French toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "white" or "blessed," or from the Welsh name Gwyn. 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 Guin (0.81 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 Guin?
You can see how many people are called Guin on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.