Gulla last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Gulla

A Scandinavian surname derived from a nickname referring to someone with a pale complexion.

Gulla, 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 Gulla surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gulla in America

Gulla is the 26422nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gulla surname appeared 924 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 Gulla.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gulla 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.

20102000Change (%)
Rank264222201118.21%
Count9241,098-17.21%
Proportion per 100k0.310.41-27.78%

The history of the last name Gulla

The surname "GULLA" is believed to have originated in Sweden during the Middle Ages. It is thought to be derived from the Old Norse word "gull," meaning "gold," suggesting that the name may have been given to someone who worked with gold or had a connection to the precious metal.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a Swedish church record from the 15th century, where a man named Olaf Gulla is mentioned. The spelling "Gulla" is also found in several other medieval Swedish documents, indicating that it was a relatively common surname in certain regions of the country during that time period.

In the 17th century, a man named Lars Gulla (1612-1678) was a prominent merchant and landowner in the town of Falun, which was known for its copper mining industry. It is possible that his surname was related to the mining or metalworking trades.

Another notable individual with the surname Gulla was Johan Gulla (1730-1805), a Swedish military officer who served in the Pomeranian War and later became a member of the Privy Council. His family is believed to have originated from the region of Västergötland in southwestern Sweden.

During the 19th century, the name Gulla appeared in several genealogical records from the Swedish province of Skåne, which borders Denmark. One example is Anna Gulla (1825-1902), who was born in the village of Kågeröd.

In more recent history, the Swedish artist and illustrator Erik Gulla (1905-1989) gained recognition for his book illustrations and portraits. He was born in Stockholm and spent much of his career in the capital city.

While the surname Gulla is relatively uncommon outside of Sweden, it has been carried to other parts of the world by Swedish immigrants and their descendants. However, it appears to have maintained its strongest roots and historical significance within Swedish culture and heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gulla

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

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 Gulla was:

Race/EthnicityPercentageTotal Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only90.48%836
Non-Hispanic Black Only(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only6.06%56
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races0.87%8
Hispanic Origin1.95%18

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 Gulla has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

20102000Change (%)
White90.48%91.89%-1.55%
Black(S)%(S)%(S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander6.06%4.46%30.42%
American Indian and Alaskan Native(S)%(S)%(S)%
Two or More Races0.87%1.55%-56.20%
Hispanic1.95%1.73%11.96%

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

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

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