2000
#824
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 38,232
First available Census row
Per 100,000 14.17
Uncommon Last name
Acevedo
Derived from a place name meaning "holly grove" in Spanish, likely referring to someone who lived near one.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 60,080 Americans carry the last name Acevedo. That puts it at #629 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 17.53 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,705 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Acevedo 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
60K
1 in 5,705
Census rank
#629
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
17.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
52K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 52,393 bearers of the surname Acevedo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 17.53 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 629th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Acevedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Black (0.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Acevedo
The surname Acevedo has its origins in Spain and is considered a Spanish toponymic surname. It is believed to have derived from the municipality of the same name, Acevedo, located in the province of Asturias in northern Spain. The name itself is thought to originate from the Latin word "acervum," meaning "heap" or "pile," possibly referring to a specific geographical feature or landmark in the area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Acevedo can be found in the "Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla," a medieval census document from the 14th century. This document mentions individuals bearing the surname Acevedo residing in various villages and towns throughout the region of Castile.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, as Spanish explorers and colonists ventured across the Atlantic, the surname Acevedo began to spread to the Americas. Notable individuals with this surname include Pedro de Acevedo, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro in the early 1500s.
Another prominent figure was Jerónimo de Acevedo, a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary born in 1550 in Murcia, Spain. He dedicated his life to evangelizing in the Americas and was eventually martyred in what is now Brazil in 1570.
In the realm of literature, Alonso de Acevedo (1590-1640) was a Spanish Golden Age playwright and poet, known for his contributions to the Spanish literary renaissance.
Moving into the 18th century, Joaquín Antonio de Acevedo (1712-1779) was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Chilean Patagonia from 1767 to 1779.
Lastly, Edmundo Acevedo (1857-1948), a Uruguayan writer and journalist, gained recognition for his literary works and contributions to the development of the novel in Uruguay in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Acevedo
Among Census respondents with the surname Acevedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Black (0.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Acevedo 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 Acevedo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.6% · 48,534
- White5.5% · 2,875
- Black or African American0.8% · 443
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 285
- Two or more races0.3% · 175
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 81
Timeline
Historical Census data for Acevedo
Acevedo appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#665
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 51,351
+13,119 bearers (+34.3%)
Per 100,000 17.41
Rank movement Up 159 places
2020
#629
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 52,393
+1,042 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 17.53
Rank movement Up 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #824 | 38,232 | 14.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #665 | 51,351 | 17.41 | +13,119 bearers (+34.3%) | Up 159 places |
| 2020 | #629 | 52,393 | 17.53 | +1,042 bearers (+2.0%) | Up 36 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 Acevedo 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 | #665 | #629 | 5.4% |
| Count | 51,351 | 52,393 | 2.0% |
| Per 100K | 17.41 | 17.53 | 0.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Acevedo bearers went from 51,351 to 52,393 (+2.0% change). The surname moved up 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #665 to #629.
FAQ
Acevedo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Acevedo?
Name Census estimates that about 60,080 living Americans carry the surname Acevedo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,705 residents.
How common is Acevedo?
Acevedo ranks #629 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 17.53 per 100,000 residents, which is about 18 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 52,393 people with the surname Acevedo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (60,080), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 17.53 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 17.53 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 18 of them to have the surname Acevedo.
Has Acevedo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Acevedo went from 51,351 recorded bearers to 52,393. That is an increase of 1,042 (+2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #665 to #629.
What does the Census say about the background of Acevedo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Acevedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.6%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Black (0.8%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Acevedo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.6% (48,534 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Acevedo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.6%), White (5.5%), Black (0.8%). 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 Acevedo (2000, 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 Acevedo mean?
Derived from a place name meaning "holly grove" in Spanish, likely referring to someone who lived near one. 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 Acevedo (17.53 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 many people are called Acevedo?
If you just want to know how many people are called Acevedo, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.