2010
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Guisse
A French surname possibly derived from the French word "guise" meaning "manner" or "way".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 196 Americans carry the last name Guisse. That puts it at #109,993 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,748,747 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guisse 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
196
1 in 1,748,747
Census rank
#109,993
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
171
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 171 bearers of the surname Guisse in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 109993rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guisse, the largest self-reported group is Black at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and White (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guisse
The surname GUISSE originated in France, with the earliest known records dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "guise," which means "manner" or "way." This word itself has roots in the Germanic languages, possibly stemming from the Old Frankish "wisa."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GUISSE can be found in the "Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres," a medieval manuscript from the 12th century. It mentions a certain "Robertus dictus Guisse" who was a resident of Chartres, a city in northern France.
During the 13th century, there are references to a noble family called "de Guisse" in the region of Picardy, located in northern France. This family held lands and titles around the town of Guise, which may have influenced the spelling and pronunciation of their surname.
In the 14th century, a notable figure was Guillaume GUISSE, a wealthy merchant from Paris who was involved in the wool trade. He is mentioned in several business records from the time, including transactions with English merchants.
In the 16th century, a famous bearer of the name was Jean GUISSE, a French Renaissance poet and playwright born in Normandy around 1505. He was known for his satirical works and enjoyed the patronage of French nobility.
Another significant figure was François GUISSE, a French military officer who lived from 1582 to 1648. He fought in the Thirty Years' War and was awarded the title of Maréchal de France for his service.
In the 18th century, a prominent individual was Jean-Baptiste GUISSE, a French architect born in 1708. He designed several notable buildings in Paris, including the Church of Saint-Sulpice and the École Militaire.
During the 19th century, there was a French politician named Édouard GUISSE, who served as a deputy in the National Assembly from 1848 to 1851. He was born in 1807 and was known for his liberal views and support for democratic reforms.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guisse
Among Census respondents with the surname Guisse, the largest self-reported group is Black at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and White (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Guisse 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 Guisse surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.9% · 152
- Two or more races4.7% · 8
- White2.9% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino2.3% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guisse
Guisse 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
#109,993
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 171
+51 bearers (+42.5%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Up 29,235 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #109,993 | 171 | 0.06 | +51 bearers (+42.5%) | Up 29,235 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 Guisse 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 | #139,228 | #109,993 | 21.0% |
| Count | 120 | 171 | 42.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.06 | 43.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guisse bearers went from 120 to 171 (+42.5% change). The surname moved up 29,235 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #109,993.
FAQ
Guisse surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guisse?
Name Census estimates that about 196 living Americans carry the surname Guisse. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,748,747 residents.
How common is Guisse?
Guisse ranks #109,993 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 171 people with the surname Guisse. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (196), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Guisse.
Has Guisse become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guisse went from 120 recorded bearers to 171. That is an increase of 51 (+42.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #139,228 to #109,993.
What does the Census say about the background of Guisse?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guisse, the largest self-reported group is Black at 88.9%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.7%) and White (2.9%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Guisse in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.9% (152 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guisse appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (88.9%), Two or More Races (4.7%), White (2.9%). 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 Guisse (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 Guisse mean?
A French surname possibly derived from the French word "guise" meaning "manner" or "way". 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 Guisse (0.06 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 Guisse?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.