Explore the Family Name Guffey

The meaning of Guffey

Irish and Scottish: from Gaelic Mac Dhuibhshíthe (see McAfee), a shortened form of the variant McGuffey. This form of the surname is now rare in Britain and Ireland.

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

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

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Guffey has seen a slight decrease between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Guffey was ranked as the 4,635th most popular surname in the United States, but by 2010 it had dropped slightly to the 4,828th position, marking a -4.16% change. However, despite this drop in ranking, the actual count of individuals with the Guffey surname increased from 6,995 to 7,307, a rise of 4.46%. The proportion of people named Guffey per 100,000 also saw a small decrease of -4.25%.

20002010Change
Rank#4,635#4,828-4.16%
Count6,9957,3074.46%
Proportion per 100k2.592.48-4.25%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Guffey

In terms of ethnicity, the Decennial U.S. Census showed some shifts among those carrying the Guffey surname. From 2000 to 2010, there was no change in the percentage of Asian/Pacific Islanders with the surname. However, the percentage of individuals identifying as two or more races increased by 19.47%, while the percentage identifying as Hispanic rose by 26.59%. The percentage of Black individuals also rose, albeit at a lesser rate of 50%. Conversely, the percentage of White individuals decreased by -0.77% and American Indian and Alaskan Natives with the Guffey surname fell by -4.17%.

20002010Change
White95.64%94.9%-0.77%
Hispanic1.73%2.19%26.59%
Two or More Races1.13%1.35%19.47%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.96%0.92%-4.17%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.34%0.34%0%
Black0.2%0.3%50%

Guffey ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Guffey is British & Irish, which comprises 63.8% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (23.0%) and Scandinavian (2.6%). Additional ancestries include Eastern European, Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Nigerian, and Indigenous American.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish63.8%
French & German23.0%
Scandinavian2.6%
Other10.5%
Guffey

Possible origins of the surname Guffey

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Guffey have recent ancestry locations in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Glasgow City, United Kingdom94.60%
West Yorkshire, United Kingdom94.60%
Merseyside, United Kingdom93.90%
South Yorkshire, United Kingdom93.90%
Tyne And Wear, United Kingdom93.90%

What Guffey haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Guffey is R-CTS241, which is predominantly found among people with European ancestry. Haplogroup R-CTS241 is descended from haplogroup R-M343. Other common haplogroups include R-S5201 and I-Y4752, which are predominantly found among people with European and European ancestry. Other surnames with similar common haplogroups are: Burney, Mccullough, Ferguson, Mcknight, Malone, Davies, Griffith, Mcculloch, Logan, Jack.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Guffey surname are: H1, J1c, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

guffeyPaternal Haplogroup Origins R-M343

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Guffey have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Guffey

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Guffey" Surname 39.5%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Guffey

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Guffey" Surname 23.3%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Guffey

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Guffey" Surname 35.6%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Guffey

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Guffey" Surname 26.6%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Guffey?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Guffey are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%