2000
#1,150
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 27,934
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.36
Uncommon Last name
Guy
A French occupational surname for a guide or leader of travelers in a difficult or unknown region.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 34,801 Americans carry the last name Guy. That puts it at #1,133 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.15 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,849 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guy 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 Guy with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
35K
1 in 9,849
Census rank
#1,133
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
30K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 30,348 bearers of the surname Guy in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.15 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1133rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guy, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guy
The surname Guy has its origins in France, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French given name "Gui" or "Guy," which itself comes from the Germanic name "Wido," meaning "wood" or "forest."
The name Guy was particularly common in the regions of Normandy and Brittany in northern France. It is believed to have been introduced to England after the Norman Conquest in 1066, when many Norman families settled in the British Isles.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Guy can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a comprehensive survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears as "Wido" in this historical document.
In the 12th century, a notable figure named Guy de Lusignan (c. 1150 – 1194) was a French crusader and King of Jerusalem. He played a significant role in the Third Crusade and is mentioned in various chronicles of the time.
Another prominent individual with the surname Guy was Thomas Guy (1644 – 1724), a wealthy British bookseller and founder of Guy's Hospital in London. The hospital, established in 1721, was one of the earliest healthcare institutions in London and continues to operate to this day.
In the literary world, Guy de Maupassant (1850 – 1893) was a celebrated French writer known for his short stories and novels, including works such as "Bel-Ami" and "The Necklace."
The surname Guy has also been associated with various place names throughout history. One example is Guy's Cliffe in Warwickshire, England, which was named after Guy of Warwick, a legendary English hero from the 10th century.
Other notable individuals with the surname Guy include René Guy Cadou (1920 – 1951), a French poet and writer, and Rosa Guy (1924 – 2012), an American writer and educator known for her works depicting the experiences of the African American community.
While the surname Guy has its roots in France and has been present in various parts of Europe and the Americas, it has maintained a strong connection to its historical origins and has been carried by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guy
Among Census respondents with the surname Guy, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Guy 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 Guy surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White64.8% · 19,667
- Black or African American23.9% · 7,243
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 1,328
- Two or more races4.4% · 1,324
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 411
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 375
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guy
Guy 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
#1,227
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 28,852
+918 bearers (+3.3%)
Per 100,000 9.78
Rank movement Down 77 places
2020
#1,133
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,348
+1,496 bearers (+5.2%)
Per 100,000 10.15
Rank movement Up 94 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,150 | 27,934 | 10.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,227 | 28,852 | 9.78 | +918 bearers (+3.3%) | Down 77 places |
| 2020 | #1,133 | 30,348 | 10.15 | +1,496 bearers (+5.2%) | Up 94 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 Guy 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 | #1,227 | #1,133 | 7.7% |
| Count | 28,852 | 30,348 | 5.2% |
| Per 100K | 9.78 | 10.15 | 3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guy bearers went from 28,852 to 30,348 (+5.2% change). The surname moved up 94 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,227 to #1,133.
FAQ
Guy surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guy?
Name Census estimates that about 34,801 living Americans carry the surname Guy. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,849 residents.
How common is Guy?
Guy ranks #1,133 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.15 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 30,348 people with the surname Guy. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (34,801), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.15 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.15 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Guy.
Has Guy become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guy went from 28,852 recorded bearers to 30,348. That is an increase of 1,496 (+5.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,227 to #1,133.
What does the Census say about the background of Guy?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guy, the largest self-reported group is White at 64.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.9%) and Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Guy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 64.8% (19,667 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guy appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (64.8%), Black (23.9%), Hispanic (4.4%). 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 Guy (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 Guy mean?
A French occupational surname for a guide or leader of travelers in a difficult or unknown region. 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 Guy (10.15 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 are called Guy?
See how many people have the last name Guy on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.