Magdaleno
A masculine Spanish name derived from the Hebrew name "Migdal" meaning "tower".
Name Census estimates that about 684 living Americans carry the first name Magdaleno. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Magdaleno today is around 45 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Magdaleno births was 1999 (21 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Magdaleno. 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
684
~ 1 in 501,103 Americans
Peak year
1999
21 babies that year
Average age
45
years old
2024 SSA rank
#10,493
Tracked since 1916
Census
Magdaleno in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,907 people with the first name Magdaleno, which placed it at #5,748 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
#5,748
National first-name rank
People counted
2.9K
2,907 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Magdaleno
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Magdaleno is Hispanic at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%) and White (0.9%). 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 Magdaleno 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 Magdaleno at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.2% · 2,827
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 46
- White0.9% · 26
- Black or African American0.2% · 5
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Popularity
Magdaleno: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Magdaleno from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 135 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Magdaleno 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 Magdaleno during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Magdalenos live
Origin
Meaning and history of Magdaleno
The name Magdaleno is of Spanish origin, derived from the biblical name Magdalena, which itself comes from the ancient Hebrew name Migdal, meaning "tower" or "fortress." It is a masculine form of the female name Magdalena, which was popularized by Mary Magdalene, a prominent figure in the New Testament.
The earliest recorded use of the name Magdaleno can be traced back to the Middle Ages in Spain, where it was commonly used as a Christian name. It was particularly popular in regions with a strong Catholic tradition, as Mary Magdalene was revered as a saint.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Magdaleno was Magdaleno de Mieres, a Spanish diplomat and ambassador who lived in the 15th century. He served as the ambassador of the Crown of Aragon to the Holy Roman Empire and played a significant role in diplomatic negotiations during his time.
In the 16th century, Magdaleno de Quiroga was a Spanish lawyer and judge who served as the President of the Royal Audiencia of Mexico and later as the Viceroy of New Spain from 1635 to 1637. His tenure as Viceroy was marked by various reforms and initiatives aimed at improving the administration of the Spanish colonies in the Americas.
During the 17th century, Magdaleno Mauricio de Pazos was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Spanish Florida from 1677 to 1687. He played a crucial role in defending the Spanish settlements in Florida against English and Native American attacks.
In the 18th century, Magdaleno Aguilar y Cerón was a Spanish navigator and explorer who participated in several expeditions to the Pacific Northwest region of North America. He is known for his contributions to the mapping and exploration of the coastline of present-day California and Oregon.
Another notable figure with the name Magdaleno was Magdaleno Murillo, a Mexican painter and artist who lived in the 19th century. He was renowned for his religious paintings and murals, many of which can still be found in churches and public buildings throughout Mexico.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who bore the name Magdaleno, each leaving their mark in various fields, from diplomacy and law to exploration and the arts.
People
Magdaleno + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Magdaleno as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Magdaleno: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Magdaleno?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 684 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Magdaleno 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 501,103 US residents.
Is Magdaleno a common name?
We classify Magdaleno as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,002 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Magdaleno most popular?
The single biggest year for Magdaleno was 1999, when 21 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Magdaleno is about 45 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Magdaleno in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,907 people with the name Magdaleno, or 0.96 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,748 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 Magdaleno 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 Magdaleno?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Magdaleno leans strongly male. 2,881 people counted with this name were male (98.9%), compared with 33 female bearers (1.1%). 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 Magdaleno?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Magdaleno is Hispanic at 97.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%) and White (0.9%). 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 Magdaleno most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Magdaleno in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.2% (2,827 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 Magdaleno in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Magdaleno a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Magdaleno 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 Magdaleno still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Magdaleno 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 Magdaleno 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 Magdaleno?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.