Explore the Family Name Guardian

The meaning of Guardian

1. Hispanic: occupational name from guardián ‘guardian’. 2. Americanized form (translation into English) of Croatian and Slovenian Vardijan or Slovenian Vardjan: occupational name from a Slavicized form of Venetian Italian vardian ‘guardian’, denoting a border guard in the former Military Frontier, a borderland between the Habsburg Empire and the Ottoman Empire.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Guardian in the United States?

Based on data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Guardian has seen an increase in popularity between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, it was ranked at 56,826, but by 2010, it had risen to a ranking of 46,219. That's an impressive climb of 18.67 percent. The count of individuals with this surname also grew from 336 in 2000 to 461 in 2010, reflecting a growth rate of 37.2 percent. Moreover, the proportion of people named Guardian per 100,000 increased by 33.33 percent during the same period.

20002010Change
Rank#56,826#46,21918.67%
Count33646137.2%
Proportion per 100k0.120.1633.33%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Guardian

Regarding ethnic identity, the Census data shows some notable changes for the surname Guardian. Hispanic ethnicity predominates among individuals with this surname, accounting for 87.50 percent in 2000 and increasing slightly to 88.50 percent in 2010. Meanwhile, the presence of the surname within the white demographic reduced from 9.52 percent in 2000 to 6.29 percent in 2010. Interestingly, the percentage of Asian/Pacific Islanders bearing the surname Guardian experienced a significant rise from 1.79 percent in 2000 to 4.34 percent in 2010. No changes were observed among those identifying as Black or American Indian and Alaskan Native.

20002010Change
Hispanic87.5%88.5%1.14%
White9.52%6.29%-33.93%
Asian/Pacific Islander1.79%4.34%142.46%
Two or More Races0%0%0%
Black0%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%