2010
#153,769
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Gurion
A Jewish surname originating from a town name in Europe.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Gurion. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Gurion 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
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Gurion in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Gurion, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.9%. The next largest groups are White (27.2%) and Hispanic (8.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Gurion
The surname Gurion is of Hebrew origin, and it is believed to have originated in the region that is now modern-day Israel, likely during the ancient or medieval period. The name Gurion is derived from the Hebrew word "ger," which means "stranger" or "foreigner." It is possible that the name was initially given to someone who was a newcomer or outsider to a particular community.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Gurion can be found in the Talmud, which is a central text of Rabbinic Judaism. The Talmud mentions a person named Gurion, who lived during the 3rd century CE and was a renowned scholar of Jewish law.
In the 11th century, a prominent Jewish philosopher and theologian named Shlomo ben Yehuda ibn Gurion lived in Spain. He was also known as Shlomo ibn Gabriol and made significant contributions to the development of medieval Jewish philosophy.
During the 13th century, there was a notable Jewish scholar and physician named Moses ben Shem Tov ibn Gurion, who was born in Seville, Spain. He wrote several influential works on medicine and Jewish law.
One of the most famous individuals to bear the surname Gurion was David Ben-Gurion, who was born in 1886 in Poland and later became the first Prime Minister of Israel. He played a pivotal role in the establishment of the State of Israel and served as its prime minister from 1948 to 1954, and again from 1955 to 1963.
Another noteworthy person with the surname Gurion was Avner Gurion, an Israeli diplomat and politician who served as the Speaker of the Knesset (the Israeli parliament) from 1969 to 1972. He was born in 1909 in what was then Ottoman Palestine.
The surname Gurion has also been associated with various place names and geographic locations in Israel. For example, there is a town called Gurion located in the Negev desert region of southern Israel, which was named after David Ben-Gurion.
While the surname Gurion has its roots in ancient Hebrew and Jewish history, it has continued to be used by individuals of Jewish descent throughout the centuries, and it remains a prominent surname in Israel and among the Jewish diaspora around the world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Gurion
Among Census respondents with the surname Gurion, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.9%. The next largest groups are White (27.2%) and Hispanic (8.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Gurion 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 Gurion surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander57.9% · 66
- White27.2% · 31
- Hispanic or Latino8.8% · 10
- Two or more races4.4% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Gurion
Gurion appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+8 bearers (+7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 7,274 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #153,769 | 106 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.5%) | Up 7,274 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 Gurion 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 | #153,769 | #146,495 | 4.7% |
| Count | 106 | 114 | 7.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Gurion bearers went from 106 to 114 (+7.5% change). The surname moved up 7,274 positions in the national ranking, going from #153,769 to #146,495.
FAQ
Gurion surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Gurion?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Gurion. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Gurion?
Gurion ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 114 people with the surname Gurion. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Gurion.
Has Gurion become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Gurion went from 106 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 8 (+7.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #153,769 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Gurion?
Among Census respondents with the surname Gurion, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.9%. The next largest groups are White (27.2%) and Hispanic (8.8%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Gurion in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.9% (66 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Gurion appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (57.9%), White (27.2%), Hispanic (8.8%). 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 Gurion (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 Gurion mean?
A Jewish surname originating from a town name in Europe. 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 Gurion (0.04 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 Gurion?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.