2000
#4,298
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,634
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.83
Rare Last name
Guyton
Derived from a place name meaning "settlement on or near a gully," from Old French "gui" (gully) and "ton" (town).
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,083 Americans carry the last name Guyton. That puts it at #4,330 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,736 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guyton 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 Guyton with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
9.1K
1 in 37,736
Census rank
#4,330
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,921 bearers of the surname Guyton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4330th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guyton, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.2%. The next largest groups are White (39.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guyton
The surname GUYTON has its origins in England, with roots tracing back to the Anglo-Saxon era. The name is believed to derive from the Old English words "gu" meaning "war" and "tun" meaning "enclosure" or "settlement." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a settlement or village associated with warfare or military activities.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name GUYTON can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appears as "Guitone." This entry indicates that the name was present in England during the late 11th century, shortly after the Norman Conquest.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name GUYTON appeared in various historical records and manuscripts across different regions of England. Some notable examples include John Guyton, a landowner in Wiltshire mentioned in the Feet of Fines records from 1268, and William Guyton, a merchant from York recorded in the city's guild rolls in 1379.
The name GUYTON has also been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. One such figure is Sir Edward Guyton (1560-1625), an English soldier and Member of Parliament during the reign of King James I. Another prominent bearer of the name was Rev. John Guyton (1592-1667), an English clergyman and author who served as the rector of Coleshill, Warwickshire.
In the 17th century, the GUYTON name gained recognition through the work of Sir Richard Guyton (1635-1711), an English lawyer and judge who served as the Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer. His son, Sir John Guyton (1671-1733), followed in his footsteps and became a notable jurist, serving as a judge of the Court of King's Bench.
Another significant figure bearing the GUYTON surname was John Guyton (1711-1786), an English architect and surveyor who was responsible for designing several notable buildings in London, including the Drury Lane Theatre and the British Museum.
Over the centuries, the GUYTON surname has undergone various spelling variations, such as Guyton, Guyten, Guiton, and Gyton. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and the preferences of individual scribes and record keepers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guyton
Among Census respondents with the surname Guyton, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.2%. The next largest groups are White (39.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Guyton 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 Guyton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American51.2% · 4,053
- White39.3% · 3,109
- Two or more races4.8% · 379
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 328
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 29
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guyton
Guyton 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
#4,337
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,191
+557 bearers (+7.3%)
Per 100,000 2.78
Rank movement Down 39 places
2020
#4,330
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,921
-270 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 2.65
Rank movement Up 7 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,298 | 7,634 | 2.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,337 | 8,191 | 2.78 | +557 bearers (+7.3%) | Down 39 places |
| 2020 | #4,330 | 7,921 | 2.65 | -270 bearers (-3.3%) | Up 7 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 Guyton 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 | #4,337 | #4,330 | 0.2% |
| Count | 8,191 | 7,921 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.78 | 2.65 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guyton bearers went from 8,191 to 7,921 (-3.3% change). The surname moved up 7 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,337 to #4,330.
FAQ
Guyton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guyton?
Name Census estimates that about 9,083 living Americans carry the surname Guyton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,736 residents.
How common is Guyton?
Guyton ranks #4,330 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,921 people with the surname Guyton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,083), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Guyton.
Has Guyton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guyton went from 8,191 recorded bearers to 7,921. That is a decrease of 270 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,337 to #4,330.
What does the Census say about the background of Guyton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guyton, the largest self-reported group is Black at 51.2%. The next largest groups are White (39.3%) and Two or More Races (4.8%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Guyton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.2% (4,053 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guyton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (51.2%), White (39.3%), Two or More Races (4.8%). 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 Guyton (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 Guyton mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "settlement on or near a gully," from Old French "gui" (gully) and "ton" (town). 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 Guyton (2.65 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 Guyton?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.