Cuauhtemoc
Descended from eagle and descending from an honored warrior.
Name Census estimates that about 1,191 living Americans carry the first name Cuauhtemoc. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Cuauhtemoc today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Cuauhtemoc births was 2007 (47 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Cuauhtemoc. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 287,787 Americans
Peak year
2007
47 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,509
Tracked since 1949
Census
Cuauhtemoc in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,942 people with the first name Cuauhtemoc, which placed it at #7,733 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#7,733
National first-name rank
People counted
1.9K
1,942 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
98.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cuauhtemoc
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cuauhtemoc is Hispanic at 98.4%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Cuauhtemoc described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Cuauhtemoc at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino98.4% · 1,911
- White1.2% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
- Two or more races0.1% · 2
Popularity
Cuauhtemoc: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Cuauhtemoc from the 1940s through to the 2020s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 405 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Cuauhtemoc by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Cuauhtemoc during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Cuauhtemocs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. California, Texas, Illinois recorded the most babies named Cuauhtemoc, while Illinois, Texas, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 231 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Cuauhtemoc
The name Cuauhtemoc has its origins in the Nahuatl language, spoken by the Aztec people of central Mexico. It is a compound word formed from "cuauhtli," meaning eagle, and "temoc," meaning "he who descends." The name can be translated as "Descending Eagle" or "Eagle That Descends."
This name holds a significant place in Aztec history and culture. It was the name of Cuauhtemoc, the last Tlatoani (ruler) of the Aztec Empire. He was born in 1495 and ruled from 1520 until the fall of Tenochtitlan (present-day Mexico City) to the Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés in 1521.
Cuauhtemoc was a skilled military leader and strategist who fiercely resisted the Spanish invasion. He led the defense of Tenochtitlan during the final siege, which lasted for several months. After the city fell, Cuauhtemoc was captured and later executed by the Spanish in 1525.
The name Cuauhtemoc appears in various Aztec codices and historical accounts, such as the Codex Mendoza and the writings of Bernal Díaz del Castillo, a Spanish soldier who participated in the conquest of Mexico. These sources depict Cuauhtemoc as a brave and resilient leader who fought to the end to protect his people and their way of life.
In addition to the last Aztec ruler, other notable historical figures have borne the name Cuauhtemoc. One example is Cuauhtemoc Cárdenas (1934-present), a Mexican politician and former presidential candidate who played a significant role in the democratization of Mexico.
Another prominent individual was Cuauhtemoc Blanco (1973-present), a Mexican professional footballer who represented his country in three World Cup tournaments and is considered one of the greatest players in Mexican soccer history.
Cuauhtemoc Sánchez (1949-2019) was a Mexican philosopher and academic who made significant contributions to the field of Latin American philosophy and political thought.
Cuauhtemoc Medina (1965-present) is a renowned Mexican art critic, curator, and historian who has played a crucial role in promoting contemporary Latin American art on a global scale.
Cuauhtemoc Solórzano (1966-present) is a Mexican actor and director known for his work in television, film, and theater productions.
The name Cuauhtemoc continues to be used today, carrying the legacy and significance of the Aztec culture and the legendary ruler who bore this name. It serves as a reminder of the resilience and bravery of the indigenous people who fought to defend their homeland and traditions against the Spanish conquest.
People
Cuauhtemoc + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Cuauhtemoc as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with C
Other first names starting with C with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Cuauhtemoc: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Cuauhtemoc?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,191 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Cuauhtemoc going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 287,787 US residents.
Is Cuauhtemoc a common name?
We classify Cuauhtemoc as "Rare". It ranks above 91.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,227 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Cuauhtemoc most popular?
The single biggest year for Cuauhtemoc was 2007, when 47 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Cuauhtemoc is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Cuauhtemoc in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,942 people with the name Cuauhtemoc, or 0.64 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #7,733 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Cuauhtemoc in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Cuauhtemoc?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Cuauhtemoc appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,940 people counted with this name, 99.9% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Cuauhtemoc?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Cuauhtemoc is Hispanic at 98.4%. The next largest groups are White (1.2%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Cuauhtemoc most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Cuauhtemoc in the 2020 Census, accounting for 98.4% (1,911 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Cuauhtemoc in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Cuauhtemoc a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Cuauhtemoc in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Cuauhtemoc still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Cuauhtemoc in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Cuauhtemoc can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Cuauhtemoc?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.