2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Acenas
A Spanish surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a place name or a personal name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Acenas. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Acenas surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Acenas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Acenas, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and White (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Acenas
The surname Acenas has its origins in Spain, with the earliest records dating back to the 16th century. It is believed to be derived from the Spanish word "acena," which means a water mill or a mill powered by a stream or river. This suggests that the earliest bearers of this surname may have lived near or operated such mills.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Acenas surname can be found in the archives of the city of Seville, where a man named Pedro de Acenas was mentioned in a document from the year 1587. This document referred to him as a miller, further strengthening the connection between the surname and the occupation of milling.
In the 17th century, the Acenas surname appears in various records from the regions of Andalusia and Castile in Spain. One notable individual from this period was Juan Acenas, a prominent landowner and farmer who lived in the town of Écija, Seville, between 1620 and 1692.
As the Spanish empire expanded across the Atlantic, the Acenas surname also made its way to the New World. In the 18th century, a family by the name of Acenas settled in the region of Nueva Galicia (present-day western Mexico), where they established themselves as successful farmers and ranchers.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Acenas surname in the Americas was María Acenas, who was born in 1745 in the city of Guadalajara, Nueva Galicia. She was the daughter of Spanish immigrants and went on to marry a local landowner, contributing to the spread of the surname in the region.
In the 19th century, the Acenas surname continued to be found in various parts of Spain, as well as in Spanish-speaking countries in the Americas. Notable individuals from this period include Francisco Acenas, a renowned painter from Seville who lived from 1808 to 1887, and Miguel Acenas, a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Chilean Congress in the late 1800s.
As the centuries passed, the Acenas surname spread further across the globe, with bearers of the name contributing to various fields and professions. Some other notable individuals with the surname include José Acenas, a celebrated Mexican author and journalist from the early 20th century, and Ana Acenas, a Spanish-born actress and singer who gained popularity in Latin American countries in the 1960s and 1970s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Acenas
Among Census respondents with the surname Acenas, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and White (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Acenas bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Acenas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander84.3% · 97
- Hispanic or Latino7.8% · 9
- White3.5% · 4
- Two or more races3.5% · 4
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Acenas
Acenas appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+6 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 4,695 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.5%) | Up 4,695 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Acenas surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #150,452 | #145,757 | 3.1% |
| Count | 109 | 115 | 5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Acenas bearers went from 109 to 115 (+5.5% change). The surname moved up 4,695 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #145,757.
FAQ
Acenas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Acenas?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Acenas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Acenas?
Acenas ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 115 people with the surname Acenas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Acenas.
Has Acenas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Acenas went from 109 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 6 (+5.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #150,452 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Acenas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Acenas, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 84.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (7.8%) and White (3.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Acenas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.3% (97 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Acenas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (84.3%), Hispanic (7.8%), White (3.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Acenas (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Acenas mean?
A Spanish surname of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a place name or a personal name. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Acenas (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Acenas?
Find out how many people have the surname Acenas on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.