2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Guthro
A Scots surname derived from Guthrum, an Old Norse personal name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 139 Americans carry the last name Guthro. That puts it at #141,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,465,859 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guthro 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
139
1 in 2,465,859
Census rank
#141,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
121
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 121 bearers of the surname Guthro in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 141309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guthro, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guthro
The surname Guthro is believed to have originated in Scotland during the 12th century. It is likely derived from the Old Norse personal name "Gudrun", which means "divine protection" or "God's secret". The name may have been brought to Scotland by Norse settlers during the Viking age.
In its earliest recorded forms, the name appeared as "Gudrune" and "Gudrun" in ancient Scottish documents and charters. Over time, the name evolved into various spellings such as "Guthrie", "Guthry", and "Guthro" due to regional dialects and scribal errors.
One of the earliest documented instances of the name Guthro can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, a historic record of Scottish landowners and nobles who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. The Ragman Rolls mention a "Willielmus de Guthry" from the county of Angus in eastern Scotland.
During the 14th century, the Guthro family established themselves as prominent landowners in the Scottish Lowlands, particularly in the counties of Angus, Fife, and Perthshire. The name Guthro is closely associated with the village of Guthrie in Angus, which may have derived its name from the family.
One notable figure bearing the Guthro surname was Sir David Guthro, a Scottish knight who fought alongside King Robert the Bruce during the First War of Scottish Independence in the early 14th century. Sir David was granted lands in Angus for his service to the crown.
In the 15th century, a branch of the Guthro family settled in the Scottish Borders region, where they became influential landowners and held the barony of Guthrie in Berwickshire. One member of this branch, Alexander Guthro, was a prominent Scottish clergyman and Bishop of Moray from 1451 to 1476.
Another notable figure was John Guthro, a Scottish scholar and philosopher who lived in the 16th century. He was a professor at the University of Aberdeen and authored several works on logic and rhetoric.
During the 17th century, the Guthro surname spread beyond Scotland as members of the family emigrated to other parts of the British Isles and the American colonies. One such individual was Robert Guthro, who was born in Angus in 1620 and later settled in Virginia in the 1650s, becoming one of the first Guthros in the New World.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guthro
Among Census respondents with the surname Guthro, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and Two or More Races (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Guthro 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 Guthro surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White83.5% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino8.3% · 10
- Two or more races5.8% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guthro
Guthro 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
#129,047
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 132
+10 bearers (+8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 250 places
2020
#141,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 121
-11 bearers (-8.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 12,262 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,047 | 132 | 0.04 | +10 bearers (+8.2%) | Down 250 places |
| 2020 | #141,309 | 121 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-8.3%) | Down 12,262 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 Guthro 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 | #129,047 | #141,309 | -9.5% |
| Count | 132 | 121 | -8.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guthro bearers went from 132 to 121 (-8.3% change). The surname moved down 12,262 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,047 to #141,309.
FAQ
Guthro surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guthro?
Name Census estimates that about 139 living Americans carry the surname Guthro. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,465,859 residents.
How common is Guthro?
Guthro ranks #141,309 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 121 people with the surname Guthro. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (139), 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 Guthro.
Has Guthro become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guthro went from 132 recorded bearers to 121. That is a decrease of 11 (-8.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,047 to #141,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Guthro?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guthro, the largest self-reported group is White at 83.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.3%) and Two or More Races (5.8%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Guthro in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.5% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guthro appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (83.5%), Hispanic (8.3%), Two or More Races (5.8%). 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 Guthro (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 Guthro mean?
A Scots surname derived from Guthrum, an Old Norse personal name. 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 Guthro (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 have the last name Guthro?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Guthro at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.