Given name & surname · also Welsh, German
Guy
“a warrior; from the wood”·“a lively man”·“one who acts as a guide”
Guy is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “a warrior; from the wood”, “a lively man”, and “one who acts as a guide”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original GermanGuido
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “a warrior; from the wood”, “a lively man”, and “one who acts as a guide”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with German, Welsh, and French naming traditions.
How it developed
In Norman usage, Guy developed from Gui. In English usage, Guy developed from the Old Dutch form Wido.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Guy through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 91,102
- 90,632 boys · 470 girls
- Most popular year
- 1957
- 2,311 babies
- 2025
- 103
- #1,637 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −23%
- Easing
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 103 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,637 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 22.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 2,302 in 1957. In 2025, California and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (13 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 54,143 as a first name in 2020; 30,348 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Guy’s family of names
In English usage, Guy has a diminutive in Wyatt. Guy shares a linguistic root with Guido. In French usage, Guy has a conventional equivalent in the Esperanto form Vito.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Guy has relatives in 33 languages. Lines run from its French roots to each of them.
40 related names in 33 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 41
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- Witoldcognate · German
- Veitcognate · German
- Gutooriginal · Welsh
- VitoItalian, Esperanto
- VitaSicilian
- Vytasequivalent
- WitPolish
- Quidoequivalent
Show 33 moreShow fewer
- VitusLatin
- VitoldHungarian
- Guidottoequivalent
- Qayequivalent
- Widocognate · odt
- Vitucognate · Sicilian
- VítCzech
- ᚢᛁᚦᛦOld Norse
- KvidoCzech
- VidSlovene, Serbo-Croatian
- ВитRussian
- ГвидонRussian
- GwidonPolish
- GwidoPolish
- GuisOccitan, Old French
- GuiuOccitan, Catalan
- ᚹᛁᛞᚢᛉnordique commun
- GuidusLatin
- ギーJapanese
- ガイJapanese
- ϜιδοςAncient Greek
- ΓουίδωναςGreek
- GuidiCorsican
- GwionBreton
- กายThai
- GvidoSlovene, Serbo-Croatian
- ГайRussian
- GvidasLithuanian
- GujdóHungarian
- גַּיְאHebrew
- גאיHebrew
- ԳիArmenian
- ԳվիդոնArmenian
People named Guy
- Guy de MaupassantFrench writer (1850-1893)
- Guy FawkesEnglish member of the Gunpowder Plot of 16051570–1606
- Guy RitchieEnglish filmmaker (born 1968)
- Guy VerhofstadtPrime Minister of Belgium from 1999 to 2008born 1953
- Guy PearceAustralian actor (born 1967)
- Guy DebordFrench Marxist theorist, writer, filmmaker (1931–1994)
- Guy of LusignanFrench Poitevin knight and King of Jerusalem by right of marriage (c.1150–1194) (r. 1186–1192)1129–1194
- Guy III of SpoletoHoly Roman Emperor from 891 to 894855–894
- Guy ParmelinSwiss politicianborn 1959
Characters named Guy: Guy Gardner (DC Comics fictional character).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Guy, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Gerard
“one who is mighty with a spear”
>99% boys
Glen
“from the secluded narrow valley”
>99% boys
Gale
“a foreigner” · “one who is cheerful”
85% boys · 15% girls
Gary
“one who wields a spear”
>99% boys
Gordon
“from the great hill; a hero”
>99% boys
Carl
“a free man”
>99% boys
Glenn
“from the valley between the hills” · “from the secluded narrow valley”
>99% boys
Craig
“from the rocks; from the crag”
>99% boys