Guy
Guy is a masculine given name derived from an abbreviated version of a Germanic name that began either with witu, meaning wood, or wit, meaning wide. In French, the letter w became gu and the name became Guy, Gui or Guido. In Latin, the name was written as Wido. It was a popular name in Normandy and was used in England as well after the Norman Conquest.
- English
- French
- Hebrew
Meaning & Origin of Guy
What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures.
Guy is a masculine given name derived from an abbreviated version of a Germanic name that began either with witu, meaning wood, or wit, meaning wide. In French, the letter w became gu and the name became Guy, Gui or Guido. In Latin, the name was written as Wido. It was a popular name in Normandy and was used in England as well after the Norman Conquest.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Read more →
Cultural Origins (via Behind the Name)
- English
- French
- Hebrew
The Story of Guy
Guy first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby boy name in 1880, with 239 babies given the name that year. The name hit its high-water mark in 1957: 2,301 births, good for #149 nationwide. About 21% of every Guy on record arrived during the 1950s, its defining decade. As of 2026, Guy ranks #1,607 for baby boys with 107 births, falling sharply (-21%). All told, over 91K Americans have carried the name since 1880, from the 1880s to the 2020s.
Popularity Over Time
Popularity by State
Variants & Related Forms of Guy
Foreign forms, alternate spellings, and nicknames that share roots with Guy. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Names that sound like Guy
Phonetically similar names — useful when Guy is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name.
Source: Datamuse . Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated.
Frequently Asked Questions about Guy
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About the name Guy
Guy is a boy baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 91K births in the dataset. Guy's peak popularity came in 1957 when it ranked #65. Use the chart and map above to compare Guy's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices.
Continue exploring
- Top names of 1957 →
- Names of the 1950s →
- Names starting with "G" →
- Browse all boy names →
- Top names of 2026 →
Data sources
- Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. Social Security Administration . Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships.
- Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — Behind the Name (used under their public API terms).
- Meaning prose and editorial summary — Wikipedia article extracts, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 .
- Predicted nationality distribution — Nationalize.io .
- Phonetically similar names — Datamuse .
Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.