2000
#14,737
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,848
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Guzzo
An Italian surname potentially derived from a personal name or nickname related to the Italian word "guzzo" meaning "hunchback".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,074 Americans carry the last name Guzzo. That puts it at #15,558 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 165,262 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Guzzo 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
2.1K
1 in 165,262
Census rank
#15,558
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,809 bearers of the surname Guzzo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15558th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Guzzo, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Guzzo
The surname Guzzo originated in Italy during the late medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Italian word "guzzo," which means "hunchbacked" or "crooked." This suggests that the name may have been initially given as a nickname to someone with a physical deformity or distinctive posture.
The earliest known written record of the Guzzo surname dates back to the 13th century in the region of Campania, particularly in the city of Naples and its surrounding areas. It is possible that the name originated as a local dialect variation of a similar-sounding surname, such as "Gozzo" or "Guzzoni."
In the 14th century, the Guzzo name appeared in various historical documents and records from the Duchy of Milan. One notable mention was in the "Liber Consuetudinum Mediolani," a legal code compiled in the late 14th century, which listed several individuals with the Guzzo surname residing in the Milanese region.
During the Renaissance period, the Guzzo family gained prominence in the city of Salerno, located in the Campania region. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Giovanni Guzzo, a renowned physician and scholar who lived from 1458 to 1526. He authored several influential medical treatises and served as a court physician to the Aragonese kings of Naples.
In the 17th century, the Guzzo name was associated with the noble Guzzo family from the city of Bari in the Apulia region. This family produced several distinguished members, including Niccolò Guzzo (1618-1684), who served as the Archbishop of Manfredonia and played a significant role in the cultural and religious life of the region.
Another notable individual with the Guzzo surname was Vincenzo Guzzo (1742-1814), a prominent lawyer and jurist from Naples. He served as a judge in the Supreme Court of the Kingdom of Naples and made significant contributions to the development of Neapolitan law during the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
Throughout history, the Guzzo surname has been found in various regions of Italy, including Campania, Apulia, Calabria, and Sicily. While the name originated as a descriptive nickname, it has since gained recognition as a distinctive Italian surname with a rich cultural heritage.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Guzzo
Among Census respondents with the surname Guzzo, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Guzzo 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 Guzzo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White89.5% · 1,619
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 136
- Two or more races2.2% · 40
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Guzzo
Guzzo 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
#15,541
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,883
+35 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.64
Rank movement Down 804 places
2020
#15,558
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,809
-74 bearers (-3.9%)
Per 100,000 0.61
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,737 | 1,848 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,541 | 1,883 | 0.64 | +35 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 804 places |
| 2020 | #15,558 | 1,809 | 0.61 | -74 bearers (-3.9%) | Down 17 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 Guzzo 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 | #15,541 | #15,558 | -0.1% |
| Count | 1,883 | 1,809 | -3.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.64 | 0.61 | -5.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Guzzo bearers went from 1,883 to 1,809 (-3.9% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,541 to #15,558.
FAQ
Guzzo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Guzzo?
Name Census estimates that about 2,074 living Americans carry the surname Guzzo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 165,262 residents.
How common is Guzzo?
Guzzo ranks #15,558 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.61 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 1,809 people with the surname Guzzo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,074), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.61 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 Guzzo.
Has Guzzo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Guzzo went from 1,883 recorded bearers to 1,809. That is a decrease of 74 (-3.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #15,541 to #15,558.
What does the Census say about the background of Guzzo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Guzzo, the largest self-reported group is White at 89.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.5%) and Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Guzzo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (1,619 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Guzzo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (89.5%), Hispanic (7.5%), Two or More Races (2.2%). 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 Guzzo (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 Guzzo mean?
An Italian surname potentially derived from a personal name or nickname related to the Italian word "guzzo" meaning "hunchback". 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 Guzzo (0.61 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 Guzzo?
Want to know how many people have the last name Guzzo? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.