2000
#67,936
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 271
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Guldner
An occupational surname derived from the German word "Goldner" meaning goldsmith or goldbeater.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 372 Americans carry the last name Guldner. That puts it at #66,015 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 921,383 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guldner 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
372
1 in 921,383
Census rank
#66,015
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
324
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 324 bearers of the surname Guldner in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 66015th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guldner, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guldner
The surname GULDNER is of German origin, derived from the Middle High German word "güldener," meaning a guildsman or craftsman. This name likely emerged in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century, when guild organizations and craft associations were becoming prominent in German towns and cities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GULDNER can be found in the city records of Nuremberg, dated to the late 15th century. These records mention a certain Hans GULDNER, a respected goldsmith and member of the local goldsmiths' guild. The name may have initially referred to individuals involved in metalworking or other crafts requiring specialized skills.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the GULDNER name appears to have spread across various regions of Germany, including Bavaria, Saxony, and Silesia. Several notable individuals bearing this surname emerged during this period, such as Johann GULDNER (1542-1617), a Lutheran theologian and author from Saxony, and Christoph GULDNER (1597-1670), a renowned mathematician and astronomer from Breslau (now Wroclaw, Poland).
In the 18th century, the GULDNER name can be found in various records from the Palatinate region of southwestern Germany, suggesting a concentration of the surname in that area. One prominent figure was Johann Philipp GULDNER (1736-1808), a respected jurist and legal scholar from Mannheim, who wrote extensively on civil and criminal law.
As the Industrial Revolution gained momentum in the 19th century, the GULDNER surname appears to have spread further afield, with bearers of the name migrating to other parts of Europe and even overseas. For example, Friedrich GULDNER (1820-1887) was a German-born industrialist who established a successful engineering firm in Vienna, Austria, specializing in the production of agricultural machinery.
Another notable figure was Karl GULDNER (1864-1932), a German-American entrepreneur who founded the Guldner Motor Truck Company in Boston, Massachusetts, one of the early pioneers in the American automotive industry. His innovations in truck design and manufacturing helped pave the way for the growth of the commercial vehicle sector in the United States.
Throughout its history, the GULDNER surname has been associated with skilled craftsmen, professionals, and entrepreneurs, reflecting its origins as a designation for guild members and tradespeople in medieval Germany.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guldner
Among Census respondents with the surname Guldner, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Guldner 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 Guldner surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.1% · 305
- Hispanic or Latino5.9% · 19
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guldner
Guldner 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
#73,911
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 262
-9 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.09
Rank movement Down 5,975 places
2020
#66,015
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 324
+62 bearers (+23.7%)
Per 100,000 0.11
Rank movement Up 7,896 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #67,936 | 271 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #73,911 | 262 | 0.09 | -9 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 5,975 places |
| 2020 | #66,015 | 324 | 0.11 | +62 bearers (+23.7%) | Up 7,896 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 Guldner 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 | #73,911 | #66,015 | 10.7% |
| Count | 262 | 324 | 23.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.09 | 0.11 | 20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guldner bearers went from 262 to 324 (+23.7% change). The surname moved up 7,896 positions in the national ranking, going from #73,911 to #66,015.
FAQ
Guldner surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guldner?
Name Census estimates that about 372 living Americans carry the surname Guldner. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 921,383 residents.
How common is Guldner?
Guldner ranks #66,015 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.11 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 324 people with the surname Guldner. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (372), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.11 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 Guldner.
Has Guldner become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guldner went from 262 recorded bearers to 324. That is an increase of 62 (+23.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #73,911 to #66,015.
What does the Census say about the background of Guldner?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guldner, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Guldner in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (305 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guldner appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.1%), Hispanic (5.9%). 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 Guldner (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 Guldner mean?
An occupational surname derived from the German word "Goldner" meaning goldsmith or goldbeater. 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 Guldner (0.11 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 Guldner?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Guldner on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.