2010
#139,228
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Guzmen
An occupational surname derived from the Spanish word "guzmán" meaning a low ranking soldier or servant.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Guzmen. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guzmen 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Guzmen in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guzmen, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guzmen
The surname "GUZMEN" is of Spanish origin, stemming from the region of Castile in central Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Arabic personal name "Guzman," which itself originated from the phrase "ghuzm ibn," meaning "son of courage."
The earliest recorded instance of the name "GUZMEN" can be traced back to the 11th century, when it was mentioned in the Cartulario de Arlanza, an ancient manuscript containing records of the Monastery of San Pedro de Arlanza in the province of Burgos. This document referenced a nobleman named Guzman Núñez, who lived in the late 11th century and was a prominent figure in the Reconquista, the Christian conquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.
Another notable bearer of the surname was Domingo Guzmen, a 12th-century Spanish nobleman and military leader who played a pivotal role in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, a significant victory for the Christian forces over the Almohad Caliphate. His descendants went on to become influential members of the Spanish nobility, with some even holding titles of dukedom and marquisate.
In the 13th century, the name "GUZMEN" gained further prominence with the rise of the Dominican Order, founded by St. Dominic de Guzmán (1170-1221), a Castilian priest and theologian who established the religious order dedicated to preaching and education. St. Dominic's surname, "de Guzmán," is believed to be a variant spelling of the same lineage.
During the Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries, several individuals bearing the surname "GUZMEN" played significant roles in the Spanish conquest of the Americas. One such figure was Núño de Guzmán (1490-1558), a Spanish conquistador who led expeditions in present-day Mexico and was appointed as the first governor of the province of Nueva Galicia.
Another notable bearer of the name was Gaspar de Guzmán y Pimentel (1587-1645), a Spanish nobleman and military leader who served as the Count-Duke of Olivares and acted as the principal minister and valued advisor to King Philip IV of Spain during the early years of the Thirty Years' War.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guzmen
Among Census respondents with the surname Guzmen, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Guzmen 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 Guzmen surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.6% · 102
- White3.7% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guzmen
Guzmen 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
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-11 bearers (-9.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 10,977 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #139,228 | 120 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -11 bearers (-9.2%) | Down 10,977 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 Guzmen 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 | #139,228 | #150,205 | -7.9% |
| Count | 120 | 109 | -9.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guzmen bearers went from 120 to 109 (-9.2% change). The surname moved down 10,977 positions in the national ranking, going from #139,228 to #150,205.
FAQ
Guzmen surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guzmen?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Guzmen. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Guzmen?
Guzmen ranks #150,205 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 109 people with the surname Guzmen. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), 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 Guzmen.
Has Guzmen become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guzmen went from 120 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 11 (-9.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #139,228 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Guzmen?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guzmen, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Guzmen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (102 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guzmen appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.6%), White (3.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.8%). 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 Guzmen (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 Guzmen mean?
An occupational surname derived from the Spanish word "guzmán" meaning a low ranking soldier or servant. 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 Guzmen (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 Guzmen?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.