2000
#8,276
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,679
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.36
Rare Last name
Ahumada
A Spanish toponymic surname indicating the individual originated from a place abundant in poplars or a smoky area.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,589 Americans carry the last name Ahumada. That puts it at #6,656 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.63 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 61,327 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ahumada 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
5.6K
1 in 61,327
Census rank
#6,656
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,874 bearers of the surname Ahumada in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.63 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6656th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ahumada, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ahumada
The surname Ahumada is of Spanish origin, believed to have originated in the region of Andalusia in southern Spain during the medieval period. The name is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "humada," which means "the reddish one" or "one with reddish complexion." This suggests that the name may have been given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a reddish or tanned complexion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Ahumada can be found in the Libro de la Montería, a 14th-century hunting manuscript commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile. The manuscript mentions a person named "Alonso Ahumada" who was a member of the king's hunting party.
The name Ahumada is also associated with the town of Ahumada in the province of Chihuahua, Mexico. It is believed that this town was named after a Spanish settler or explorer with the surname Ahumada who played a role in the region's colonization.
Historically, the surname Ahumada has been linked to several notable individuals. One such figure is Jerónimo de Ahumada y Meneses (1513-1585), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who participated in the conquest of Guatemala and served as the governor of the province of Soconusco (now part of Mexico and Guatemala).
Another prominent bearer of the name was María de Ahumada (1510-1582), a Spanish nun and the older sister of Saint Teresa of Ávila, the renowned Carmelite reformer and mystic. María de Ahumada played a crucial role in supporting her sister's religious endeavors and served as the prioress of the Carmelite convent in Ávila.
In the 19th century, Manuel María Ahumada y Mendoza (1835-1907) was a Chilean politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship during the presidency of José Manuel Balmaceda.
Other notable individuals with the surname Ahumada include Juan de Dios Ahumada (1890-1964), a Mexican politician and military officer who served as the Governor of Durango from 1926 to 1928, and María Rosa Ahumada de Gómez (1920-2008), an Argentine writer and journalist known for her work on children's literature and education.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ahumada
Among Census respondents with the surname Ahumada, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Ahumada 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 Ahumada surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.8% · 4,521
- White5.5% · 270
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 27
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 25
- Two or more races0.4% · 18
- Black or African American0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ahumada
Ahumada 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
#6,829
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,937
+1,258 bearers (+34.2%)
Per 100,000 1.67
Rank movement Up 1,447 places
2020
#6,656
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,874
-63 bearers (-1.3%)
Per 100,000 1.63
Rank movement Up 173 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,276 | 3,679 | 1.36 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,829 | 4,937 | 1.67 | +1,258 bearers (+34.2%) | Up 1,447 places |
| 2020 | #6,656 | 4,874 | 1.63 | -63 bearers (-1.3%) | Up 173 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 Ahumada 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 | #6,829 | #6,656 | 2.5% |
| Count | 4,937 | 4,874 | -1.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.67 | 1.63 | -2.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ahumada bearers went from 4,937 to 4,874 (-1.3% change). The surname moved up 173 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,829 to #6,656.
FAQ
Ahumada surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ahumada?
Name Census estimates that about 5,589 living Americans carry the surname Ahumada. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 61,327 residents.
How common is Ahumada?
Ahumada ranks #6,656 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.63 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 4,874 people with the surname Ahumada. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,589), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.63 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.63 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Ahumada.
Has Ahumada become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ahumada went from 4,937 recorded bearers to 4,874. That is a decrease of 63 (-1.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #6,829 to #6,656.
What does the Census say about the background of Ahumada?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ahumada, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.8%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). 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 Ahumada in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (4,521 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ahumada appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.8%), White (5.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). 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 Ahumada (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 Ahumada mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname indicating the individual originated from a place abundant in poplars or a smoky area. 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 Ahumada (1.63 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 have the last name Ahumada?
See how common the surname Ahumada is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.