2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Guiragossian
An Armenian surname possibly derived from a place name or occupation.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 123 Americans carry the last name Guiragossian. That puts it at #151,639 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,786,621 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guiragossian 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
123
1 in 2,786,621
Census rank
#151,639
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
107
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 107 bearers of the surname Guiragossian in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 151639th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guiragossian, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Black (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guiragossian
The surname GUIRAGOSSIAN has its origins traced back to the Armenian regions of the historical Western and Eastern Armenia, which spanned parts of modern-day Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, and Iran. The name likely emerged during the medieval period, around the 11th to 13th centuries.
The name GUIRAGOSSIAN is believed to be derived from the Armenian words "guir" meaning "scribe" or "writer" and "agossi" meaning "gospel" or "holy scripture." This suggests that the name may have been originally associated with individuals who were scribes or copyists of religious texts, particularly the gospels.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the name GUIRAGOSSIAN can be found in Armenian monastic records and manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is the chronicle of Kirakos Gandzaketsi, a 13th-century Armenian historian and chronicler, who mentioned several individuals with the surname GUIRAGOSSIAN in his writings.
During the Ottoman Empire's rule over the Armenian regions, the GUIRAGOSSIAN name was often recorded with slight variations in spelling, such as GUIRAGOSIAN or GUIRAGOSSEAN. This was likely due to the influence of Turkish scribes and record-keepers who transcribed Armenian names into Ottoman Turkish scripts.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname GUIRAGOSSIAN was Hovhannes GUIRAGOSSIAN, born in the late 15th century in the city of Khizan (modern-day Hizan, Turkey). He was a renowned calligrapher and scribe who produced numerous copies of religious texts and manuscripts.
Another notable figure was Mardiros GUIRAGOSSIAN, born in the 17th century in the city of Van (modern-day Turkey). He was a prominent Armenian scholar and theologian who authored several works on Armenian history and literature.
In the 19th century, Harutiun GUIRAGOSSIAN (1800-1868) was a prominent Armenian educator and writer who established several schools in the Ottoman Empire and contributed to the development of the Armenian language and literature.
Vahan GUIRAGOSSIAN (1873-1952) was a renowned Armenian architect who designed numerous buildings in the cities of Istanbul, Izmir, and Adana, among others, during the late Ottoman and early Republican periods in Turkey.
Lastly, Aghavni GUIRAGOSSIAN (1903-1982) was a renowned Armenian composer and musicologist who made significant contributions to the preservation and study of Armenian folk music and traditional instruments.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who carried the surname GUIRAGOSSIAN throughout history, reflecting the name's long-standing association with Armenian culture, literature, and intellectual pursuits.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guiragossian
Among Census respondents with the surname Guiragossian, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Black (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Guiragossian 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 Guiragossian surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.4% · 101
- Black or African American2.8% · 3
- Hispanic or Latino2.8% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guiragossian
Guiragossian 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+14 bearers (+13.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,871 places
2020
#151,639
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-11 bearers (-9.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,499 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +14 bearers (+13.5%) | Up 4,871 places |
| 2020 | #151,639 | 107 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.3%) | Down 10,499 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 Guiragossian 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 | #141,140 | #151,639 | -7.4% |
| Count | 118 | 107 | -9.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -10.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guiragossian bearers went from 118 to 107 (-9.3% change). The surname moved down 10,499 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #151,639.
FAQ
Guiragossian surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guiragossian?
Name Census estimates that about 123 living Americans carry the surname Guiragossian. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,786,621 residents.
How common is Guiragossian?
Guiragossian ranks #151,639 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 107 people with the surname Guiragossian. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (123), 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 Guiragossian.
Has Guiragossian become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guiragossian went from 118 recorded bearers to 107. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #151,639.
What does the Census say about the background of Guiragossian?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guiragossian, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.4%. The next largest groups are Black (2.8%) and Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Guiragossian in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.4% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guiragossian appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.4%), Black (2.8%), Hispanic (2.8%). 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 Guiragossian (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 Guiragossian mean?
An Armenian surname possibly derived from a place name or occupation. 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 Guiragossian (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 Guiragossian?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.