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

Guise, 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 Guise surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Guise in America

Guise is the 19774th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Guise surname appeared 1,361 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Guise.

We can also compare 2010 data for Guise 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 Guise

The surname Guise originates from the northern regions of France, particularly Normandy, during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Old French word "guise," which means "manner" or "way." The name may have been originally used to describe a person's distinctive manner or behavior.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, a comprehensive record of landowners and tenants in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The entry mentions a person named "Willelmus de Guisa," suggesting that the name had already been established in Normandy before the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.

During the 12th century, the noble family of Guise, also known as the House of Lorraine, rose to prominence in France. This powerful dynasty produced several influential figures, including François de Lorraine, Duke of Guise (1519-1563), a prominent military leader during the French Wars of Religion, and his son, Henri I, Duke of Guise (1550-1588), who played a significant role in the French Wars of Religion and the War of the Three Henrys.

Another notable figure with the surname Guise was René Potier, Duke of Tresmes and Prince of Guise (1579-1670), a French nobleman and military commander who served as the Governor of Provence and later as the Grand Chamberlain of France under Louis XIII.

In England, one of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Sir John Guise (c. 1450-1502), a Tudor knight and courtier who served as the Governor of Calais and held various other important positions under Henry VII and Henry VIII.

The surname Guise has also been associated with several place names, such as Guise-la-Mothe in the Somme department of France and Guist in Norfolk, England. These place names may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of the surname over time.

Other notable individuals with the surname Guise include William Guise (c. 1570-1645), an English clergyman and academic who served as the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, and John Guise (1683-1765), an English clergyman and author who wrote several religious works.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Guise

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

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

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

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