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

Gunter, 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 Gunter surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gunter in America

Gunter is the 1457th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gunter surname appeared 24,513 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Gunter.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gunter 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.

The history of the last name Gunter

The surname Gunter has its origins in Germanic personal names derived from the elements "gund" meaning war, and "heri" meaning army. It is believed to have originated as a surname in England during the medieval period.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Gunter date back to the late 12th century, with references found in the Pipe Rolls of Yorkshire from 1166. These records mention individuals with variations of the name such as Gundred and Gundret.

In the 13th century, the Hundred Rolls of 1273 list references to people with the surname Gunter in counties like Oxfordshire and Gloucestershire. This suggests that the name had spread across different regions of England by that time.

One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was John Gunter, who was recorded as being a landowner in Gloucestershire in 1327. Another early mention is found in the Feet of Fines for Essex in 1389, which lists a Robert Gunter.

The surname Gunter is also found in historic records such as the Hearth Tax Rolls of the late 17th century, indicating its continued presence in England over the centuries.

Notable individuals with the surname Gunter throughout history include Edmund Gunter (1581-1626), an English mathematician and clergyman who is credited with inventing the Gunter's scale, a calculating instrument used in navigation and surveying. Another Gunter of note was William Gunter (1605-1656), an English Catholic priest and writer who served as a chaplain to Queen Henrietta Maria.

In the 18th century, John Gunter (1705-1768) was a renowned English mathematician and instrument maker, known for his contributions to the development of surveying instruments. Meanwhile, Edmond Gunter (1744-1809) was a British Army officer who served in the American Revolutionary War.

Moving into the 19th century, Henry Gunter (1820-1900) was a prominent English architect responsible for designing several notable buildings in London, including the City of London School.

While the surname Gunter has its roots in England, it has since spread to other parts of the world through emigration and is now found in various countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gunter

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

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 Gunter was:

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

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

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

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