2000
#1,368
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,775
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.81
Uncommon Last name
Gunter
A surname of German origin meaning "battle warrior" or "bold warrior."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,593 Americans carry the last name Gunter. That puts it at #1,501 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,889 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gunter 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Gunter with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
27K
1 in 12,889
Census rank
#1,501
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 23,190 bearers of the surname Gunter in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1501st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gunter, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gunter
Among Census respondents with the surname Gunter, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Gunter 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 Gunter surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.9% · 18,297
- Black or African American13.0% · 3,025
- Two or more races4.0% · 919
- Hispanic or Latino3.0% · 696
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 127
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 126
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gunter
Gunter 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
#1,457
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,513
+738 bearers (+3.1%)
Per 100,000 8.31
Rank movement Down 89 places
2020
#1,501
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,190
-1,323 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 7.76
Rank movement Down 44 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,368 | 23,775 | 8.81 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,457 | 24,513 | 8.31 | +738 bearers (+3.1%) | Down 89 places |
| 2020 | #1,501 | 23,190 | 7.76 | -1,323 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 44 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 Gunter 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 | #1,457 | #1,501 | -3.0% |
| Count | 24,513 | 23,190 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 8.31 | 7.76 | -6.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gunter bearers went from 24,513 to 23,190 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 44 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,457 to #1,501.
FAQ
Gunter surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gunter?
Name Census estimates that about 26,593 living Americans carry the surname Gunter. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,889 residents.
How common is Gunter?
Gunter ranks #1,501 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.76 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 23,190 people with the surname Gunter. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,593), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.76 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Gunter.
Has Gunter become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gunter went from 24,513 recorded bearers to 23,190. That is a decrease of 1,323 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,457 to #1,501.
What does the Census say about the background of Gunter?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gunter, the largest self-reported group is White at 78.9%. The next largest groups are Black (13.0%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Gunter in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.9% (18,297 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gunter appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (78.9%), Black (13.0%), Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Gunter (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 Gunter mean?
A surname of German origin meaning "battle warrior" or "bold warrior." 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 Gunter (7.76 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 Gunter?
Want to know how many people have the last name Gunter? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.