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    The surname Guy

    A patronymic surname, carried by 28,852 people in the United States.

    Pronounced /ɡaɪ/ 1 syllable Soundex G000 Also a first name

    Guy: #1,227 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#10,001Dubon Guy #1,227, 28,852 people Guy: #1,227 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#100Jimenez Guy #1,227, 28,852 people
    Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Guy is more common than 99.2% of them.

    Origin

    From Old French Gui, from a Frankish form of Proto-West Germanic *Widō (compare Old Dutch Wido), a short form of names beginning with the element *widu (“wood”), from Proto-Germanic *widuz; see for example modern German Witold and Old Saxon Widukind. Cognate with Italian Guido and thus a doublet of Guido. More at wood.

    Guy is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

    Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

    How common it is

    2010 US Census

    There were 28,852 people named Guy in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 10,701 Americans. That is up 3.3% since 2000, when the Census counted 27,934.

    #1,227
    rank among US surnames
    28,852
    people in 2010
    9.8
    per 100,000 Americans
    +3.3%
    change since 2000 (was #1,150)
    RankSurnamePeople1 in
    #1,219Romano29,01810,640
    #1,220O'Neil28,94910,665
    #1,221Tyson28,94710,666
    #1,222Bui28,91910,676
    #1,223Hilton28,91810,677
    #1,224Caballero28,90310,682
    #1,225Downing28,88010,691

    Who is named Guy

    Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

    68% of people named Guy identified as white (not Hispanic), 25% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.4% as Hispanic or Latino (any race).

    • White (not Hispanic) 68%
    • Black (not Hispanic) 25%
    • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.4%
    • Two or more races 2.3%
    • American Indian and Alaska Native 1.4%
    • Asian and Pacific Islander 1.0%

    Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

    Famous Guys

    10 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

    • Buddy Guy
      American blues guitarist and singer, born 1936
    • Jasmine Guy
      American actress (born 1962)
    • William L. Guy
      American politician (1919–2013)
    • Ray Guy
      American football player (1949–2022)
    • Ryan Guy
      Association football player, born 1985
    • Fred Guy
      American musician (1897–1971)
    • Barry Guy
      British composer and jazz musician (born 1947)
    • James Best
      American actor, musician, artist (1926-2015)
    • Ace Steel
      American professional wrestler, born 1973
    • Shawnna
      American rapper, born 1978

    Notable Guys come mostly from the United States (9) and the United Kingdom (1).

    Spellings and sound-alikes

    Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

    Surnames that sound like Guy

    Guy has the Soundex code G000, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code G000.

    Questions

    Where does the surname Guy come from?
    From Old French Gui, from a Frankish form of Proto-West Germanic *Widō (compare Old Dutch Wido), a short form of names beginning with the element *widu (“wood”), from Proto-Germanic *widuz; see for example modern German Witold and Old Saxon Widukind. Cognate with Italian Guido and thus a doublet…
    How common is the surname Guy?
    28,852 people in the United States had the surname Guy in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 10,701 Americans. It ranked 1,227th of 162,253 surnames.
    What ethnicity is the surname Guy?
    In the 2010 Census, 68% of people named Guy identified as white (not Hispanic), and 25% as Black (not Hispanic).
    Who is the most famous person named Guy?
    Buddy Guy, American blues guitarist and singer, followed by Jasmine Guy.
    Where is the surname Guy most common?
    Wikidata records people named Guy in the United States and the United Kingdom.
    How do you pronounce Guy?
    Guy is /ɡaɪ/, one syllable.
    What type of surname is Guy?
    Guy is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
    Is the surname Guy getting more or less common?
    More common. 27,934 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 28,852 in 2010, up 3.3%.
    Is Guy also a first name?
    Yes. Guy is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.