2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Guisewite
A German surname denoting someone who worked with geese or poultry.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 130 Americans carry the last name Guisewite. That puts it at #147,221 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,636,572 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guisewite 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
130
1 in 2,636,572
Census rank
#147,221
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
113
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 113 bearers of the surname Guisewite in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147221st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guisewite, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guisewite
The surname GUISEWITE is believed to have originated in the Germanic regions of Central Europe during the Middle Ages. It is likely derived from a combination of the Germanic words "guise" and "wite," which roughly translate to "guide" and "white" or "bright," respectively. This suggests that the name may have been initially bestowed upon an individual who served as a guide or pathfinder, possibly distinguished by the color of their clothing or hair.
The earliest recorded instances of the name GUISEWITE can be traced back to the 13th century, appearing in various legal documents and municipal records across the Holy Roman Empire. One notable mention is found in the Codex Diplomaticus Saxoniae Regiae, a collection of historical documents from the Kingdom of Saxony, where a certain "Guisewitus von Meissen" is mentioned as a landowner in the year 1278.
During the 14th century, the GUISEWITE name began to spread across Central Europe, with variations in spelling such as "Guysewyte," "Guisewyt," and "Guysewytte" appearing in various chronicles and records. One prominent figure from this era was Hans Guisewite, a merchant and burgher of the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg, who lived from approximately 1340 to 1412.
As the centuries progressed, the GUISEWITE name continued to disperse throughout the Germanic territories and beyond. Notably, in the 16th century, a branch of the family settled in the town of Schmalkalden, in present-day Thuringia, Germany. This line produced several notable individuals, including Johannes Guisewite (1522-1587), a respected Lutheran theologian and reformer.
In the 17th century, the GUISEWITE name found its way to the Netherlands, where a prominent figure named Pieter Guisewite (1628-1701) made a name for himself as a skilled cartographer and mapmaker. His intricate and detailed maps of the Dutch provinces were highly prized during his lifetime and remain valuable historical artifacts to this day.
Another notable bearer of the GUISEWITE name was Karl Friedrich Guisewite (1768-1842), a German philosopher and educator who lived during the Age of Enlightenment. He was a proponent of the ideals of reason and humanism and authored several influential works on ethics and moral philosophy.
As the centuries passed, the GUISEWITE surname continued to spread across Europe and eventually to other parts of the world, carried by various waves of migration and immigration. While the name may have evolved in spelling and pronunciation over time, its rich historical roots and associations with guidance, brightness, and intellectual pursuits remain a testament to its enduring legacy.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guisewite
Among Census respondents with the surname Guisewite, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Guisewite 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 Guisewite surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.7% · 107
- Two or more races2.7% · 3
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- Hispanic or Latino0.9% · 1
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guisewite
Guisewite appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#147,221
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
+4 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 3,231 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,221 | 113 | 0.04 | +4 bearers (+3.7%) | Up 3,231 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 Guisewite 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 | #150,452 | #147,221 | 2.1% |
| Count | 109 | 113 | 3.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guisewite bearers went from 109 to 113 (+3.7% change). The surname moved up 3,231 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #147,221.
FAQ
Guisewite surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guisewite?
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the surname Guisewite. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,636,572 residents.
How common is Guisewite?
Guisewite ranks #147,221 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 113 people with the surname Guisewite. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (130), 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 Guisewite.
Has Guisewite become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guisewite went from 109 recorded bearers to 113. That is an increase of 4 (+3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #150,452 to #147,221.
What does the Census say about the background of Guisewite?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guisewite, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (2.7%) and Black (0.9%). 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 Guisewite in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (107 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guisewite appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.7%), Two or More Races (2.7%), Black (0.9%). 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 Guisewite (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 Guisewite mean?
A German surname denoting someone who worked with geese or poultry. 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 Guisewite (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 Americans have the surname Guisewite?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.