2000
#16,293
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,628
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.60
Rare Last name
Gullion
An Irish surname originating from a Norman family that settled in County Armagh.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,972 Americans carry the last name Gullion. That puts it at #16,255 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.58 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 173,811 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gullion 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
2.0K
1 in 173,811
Census rank
#16,255
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,720 bearers of the surname Gullion in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.58 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 16255th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gullion, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gullion
The surname Gullion is believed to have originated in Scotland or Northern Ireland, likely during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Gaelic word "gualann," meaning "shoulder" or "ridge," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a prominent ridge or hill.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in the Inquisitionum ad Capellam Domini Regis Retornatarum Abbreviatio, a collection of records from the late 13th century, where a "Willelmum de Goulhone" is mentioned in relation to land holdings in Ayrshire, Scotland.
In the 16th century, the surname is found in various spellings, including Gullion, Gullione, and Gulloun, in records from counties like Lanarkshire and Ayrshire in Scotland, and Antrim and Down in Northern Ireland. This suggests that the name may have been associated with particular regions or locations in these areas.
One notable early bearer of the name was John Gullion, a merchant and burgess (citizen) of Glasgow, who was recorded in the city's records in the late 16th century. Another was Robert Gullion, a Scottish soldier who served in the army of King Charles I during the English Civil War in the 1640s.
In the 17th century, the surname Gullion is found in connection with the town of Gullion in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. This may indicate that the name was associated with this particular place, or that some bearers of the name originated from or lived in the area.
Other notable individuals with the surname include:
1. William Gullion (c. 1700-1770), an Irish-born merchant and landowner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, who played a role in the city's early development.
2. Alexander Gullion (1815-1896), a Scottish-born farmer and politician who served in the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, Canada.
3. James Gullion (1867-1944), an Irish-born trade unionist and politician who was active in the labor movement in Glasgow, Scotland, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
4. Margaret Gullion (1893-1983), an American artist and sculptor known for her modernist works, who was based in New York City.
5. John Gullion (1919-2002), a British actor and theater director who had a prolific career on stage and television.
While the surname Gullion is not among the most common, its history spans several centuries and geographical regions, reflecting the migrations and settlements of its bearers across the British Isles and beyond.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gullion
Among Census respondents with the surname Gullion, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Gullion 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 Gullion surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.7% · 1,560
- Two or more races3.5% · 61
- Hispanic or Latino3.5% · 60
- Black or African American0.9% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gullion
Gullion 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
#16,376
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,758
+130 bearers (+8.0%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Down 83 places
2020
#16,255
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,720
-38 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 0.58
Rank movement Up 121 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,293 | 1,628 | 0.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,376 | 1,758 | 0.60 | +130 bearers (+8.0%) | Down 83 places |
| 2020 | #16,255 | 1,720 | 0.58 | -38 bearers (-2.2%) | Up 121 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 Gullion 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 | #16,376 | #16,255 | 0.7% |
| Count | 1,758 | 1,720 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.60 | 0.58 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gullion bearers went from 1,758 to 1,720 (-2.2% change). The surname moved up 121 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,376 to #16,255.
FAQ
Gullion surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gullion?
Name Census estimates that about 1,972 living Americans carry the surname Gullion. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 173,811 residents.
How common is Gullion?
Gullion ranks #16,255 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.58 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,720 people with the surname Gullion. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,972), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.58 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.58 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Gullion.
Has Gullion become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gullion went from 1,758 recorded bearers to 1,720. That is a decrease of 38 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,376 to #16,255.
What does the Census say about the background of Gullion?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gullion, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.7%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (3.5%) and Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Gullion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.7% (1,560 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gullion appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.7%), Two or More Races (3.5%), Hispanic (3.5%). 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 Gullion (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 Gullion mean?
An Irish surname originating from a Norman family that settled in County Armagh. 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 Gullion (0.58 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 Gullion?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.