2000
#11,385
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,538
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.94
Rare Last name
Guyette
A French occupational surname for a guard or watchman, derived from the Old French word "guait."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,876 Americans carry the last name Guyette. That puts it at #11,926 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 119,177 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guyette 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
2.9K
1 in 119,177
Census rank
#11,926
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,508 bearers of the surname Guyette in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11926th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guyette, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guyette
The surname Guyette originated in France during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "guiet," which means a watchman or guard. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who worked as a sentinel or performed guard duties.
Guyette is a variant spelling of the more common French surname Guyet. The earliest known record of the name Guyette dates back to the 13th century in the region of Normandy, France. In 1287, a document from the town of Caen mentions a "Robert Guyette" who was a local landowner.
During the 14th century, the name Guyette appears in several medieval records from various parts of northern France, including Picardy and Île-de-France. For instance, in 1334, a man named "Jehan Guyette" is listed in a tax register from the village of Montreuil-sur-Mer.
The variant spelling "Guyet" is also found in historical documents from this period, such as the 1389 census rolls of Paris, which include a "Guillaume Guyet" among the city's residents.
One notable figure who bore the name Guyette was Jean Guyette, a French soldier and explorer who was born in Rouen in 1580. He accompanied Samuel de Champlain on several expeditions to North America in the early 17th century and is believed to have been one of the first Europeans to explore parts of what is now Canada.
Another individual of note was Claude Guyette, a 17th-century French composer and organist who was born in Châlons-en-Champagne in 1642. He is best known for his organ compositions and served as the organist at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris.
In the 18th century, a man named Pierre Guyette (1698-1776) was a prominent merchant and landowner in the town of Beauvais, France. He was a member of the local nobility and owned several estates in the surrounding region.
The name Guyette also appears in some historical records from England and Scotland, likely due to French immigrants who settled in those countries over the centuries. For example, a "John Guyette" is mentioned in the parish records of St. Mary's Church in Nottingham, England, in 1624.
Overall, the surname Guyette has a long and well-documented history in France, with its origins dating back to the medieval period. While it is a less common name today, it has been borne by individuals from various walks of life throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guyette
Among Census respondents with the surname Guyette, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Guyette 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 Guyette surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White90.3% · 2,264
- Two or more races4.0% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 95
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 20
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 20
- Black or African American0.4% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guyette
Guyette 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
#12,064
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,585
+47 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.88
Rank movement Down 679 places
2020
#11,926
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,508
-77 bearers (-3.0%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 138 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,385 | 2,538 | 0.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,064 | 2,585 | 0.88 | +47 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 679 places |
| 2020 | #11,926 | 2,508 | 0.84 | -77 bearers (-3.0%) | Up 138 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 Guyette 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 | #12,064 | #11,926 | 1.1% |
| Count | 2,585 | 2,508 | -3.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.88 | 0.84 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guyette bearers went from 2,585 to 2,508 (-3.0% change). The surname moved up 138 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,064 to #11,926.
FAQ
Guyette surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guyette?
Name Census estimates that about 2,876 living Americans carry the surname Guyette. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 119,177 residents.
How common is Guyette?
Guyette ranks #11,926 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,508 people with the surname Guyette. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,876), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Guyette.
Has Guyette become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guyette went from 2,585 recorded bearers to 2,508. That is a decrease of 77 (-3.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #12,064 to #11,926.
What does the Census say about the background of Guyette?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guyette, the largest self-reported group is White at 90.3%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (4.0%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Guyette in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.3% (2,264 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guyette appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (90.3%), Two or More Races (4.0%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Guyette (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 Guyette mean?
A French occupational surname for a guard or watchman, derived from the Old French word "guait." 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 Guyette (0.84 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 Guyette?
You can see how many people are called Guyette on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.