2000
#11,060
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,636
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.98
Rare Last name
Alamo
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to a poplar or cottonwood tree, or someone living near such a tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,864 Americans carry the last name Alamo. That puts it at #9,270 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 88,705 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alamo 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
3.9K
1 in 88,705
Census rank
#9,270
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,370 bearers of the surname Alamo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9270th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alamo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.7%. The next largest groups are White (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alamo
The surname Alamo has its origins in Spain, where it first emerged in the 12th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "álamo," which means "poplar tree." This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who lived near a poplar grove or was associated with the cultivation or trade of poplar trees.
In its earliest recorded spellings, the name appeared as "Alamo" and "de Alamo," with the latter indicating a place of origin. It is believed that the name may have originated in the region of Castile, where poplar trees were abundant.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a 13th-century manuscript from the Kingdom of Castile, where a certain "Pedro de Alamo" was mentioned as a landowner. This suggests that the name was already well-established among the nobility or landholding classes by that time.
By the 15th century, the name had spread across Spain and was found in various regions, including Andalusia and Catalonia. In the 16th century, the name made its way to the Americas as Spanish explorers and settlers began to establish colonies in the New World.
One notable bearer of the name was Juan de Alamo, a Spanish soldier and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in the early 16th century. He is believed to have been born in Seville around 1490 and died in Mexico in the 1540s.
Another prominent figure with the surname Alamo was Alonso de Alamo, a Spanish architect who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings in Seville, including the Church of Santa María la Blanca.
In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the name was Miguel de Alamo, a Spanish painter who was active in Madrid. He was known for his religious paintings and portraits, and his works can be found in various churches and museums in Spain.
Jumping to the 19th century, there was José María Alamo, a Spanish military officer who fought in the Peninsular War against the French forces of Napoleon. He was born in Cádiz in 1785 and died in Madrid in 1856.
Finally, in the 20th century, one notable individual with the surname Alamo was María Alamo, a Spanish actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions. She was born in Barcelona in 1923 and passed away in Madrid in 2011.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alamo
Among Census respondents with the surname Alamo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.7%. The next largest groups are White (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Alamo 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 Alamo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino84.7% · 2,855
- White10.1% · 340
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 82
- Black or African American2.2% · 75
- Two or more races0.4% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alamo
Alamo 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
#9,433
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,448
+812 bearers (+30.8%)
Per 100,000 1.17
Rank movement Up 1,627 places
2020
#9,270
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,370
-78 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Up 163 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,060 | 2,636 | 0.98 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,433 | 3,448 | 1.17 | +812 bearers (+30.8%) | Up 1,627 places |
| 2020 | #9,270 | 3,370 | 1.13 | -78 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 163 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 Alamo 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 | #9,433 | #9,270 | 1.7% |
| Count | 3,448 | 3,370 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.17 | 1.13 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alamo bearers went from 3,448 to 3,370 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 163 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,433 to #9,270.
FAQ
Alamo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alamo?
Name Census estimates that about 3,864 living Americans carry the surname Alamo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 88,705 residents.
How common is Alamo?
Alamo ranks #9,270 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,370 people with the surname Alamo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,864), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Alamo.
Has Alamo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alamo went from 3,448 recorded bearers to 3,370. That is a decrease of 78 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,433 to #9,270.
What does the Census say about the background of Alamo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alamo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.7%. The next largest groups are White (10.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%). 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 Alamo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.7% (2,855 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alamo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (84.7%), White (10.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%). 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 Alamo (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 Alamo mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to a poplar or cottonwood tree, or someone living near such a tree. 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 Alamo (1.13 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 share the surname Alamo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.