2000
#15,759
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,700
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.63
Rare Last name
Aldape
A Basque surname referring to someone who lived near an alder grove or alder-covered hill.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,407 Americans carry the last name Aldape. That puts it at #13,789 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 142,399 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Aldape 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
2.4K
1 in 142,399
Census rank
#13,789
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,099 bearers of the surname Aldape in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13789th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Aldape, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.5%. The next largest groups are White (7.8%) and Two or More Races (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Aldape
The surname Aldape originates from the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France, dating back to the medieval era. It is believed to be derived from the Basque words "alde" meaning "slope" or "hillside" and "ape" which is a suffix denoting a small or diminutive form. This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone who lived on a small hill or slope.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Aldape surname can be found in a 14th-century census record from the town of Tolosa in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain. This document lists a family with the spelling "Aldapi" which was likely a variant of the modern Aldape spelling. Another early reference is in a 1487 legal document from the village of Ainhoa, near the French-Spanish border, mentioning a landowner named Juan de Aldape.
In the 16th century, a notable bearer of the name was Pedro de Aldape, a Spanish soldier and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his conquest of Mexico in 1519. Pedro is recorded as having been granted an encomienda, or land grant, in the Valley of Mexico for his services.
During the Spanish colonial era, the Aldape surname spread from its Basque origins to other parts of Spain and its overseas territories. Miguel de Aldape, born in 1632 in Seville, Spain, later immigrated to New Spain (now Mexico) where he became a prominent landowner and rancher in the region of Nuevo León.
In the 19th century, Juan Bautista Aldape, born in 1811 in San Luis Potosí, Mexico, was a renowned lawyer and politician who served as governor of the state of Zacatecas from 1861 to 1863. His cousin, General Ignacio Zaragoza Aldape, led the Mexican forces to victory against the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, an event celebrated as Cinco de Mayo.
Sebastián Aldape Aragón, born in 1870 in Guadalajara, Mexico, was a celebrated painter and art teacher who helped establish the influential Escuela de Artes Plásticas in his hometown. His works depicting scenes of everyday Mexican life are held in museum collections throughout Mexico.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aldape
Among Census respondents with the surname Aldape, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.5%. The next largest groups are White (7.8%) and Two or More Races (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Aldape 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 Aldape surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino90.5% · 1,899
- White7.8% · 164
- Two or more races0.7% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 8
- Black or African American0.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Aldape
Aldape 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
#14,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,151
+451 bearers (+26.5%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 1,755 places
2020
#13,789
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,099
-52 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Up 215 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,759 | 1,700 | 0.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,004 | 2,151 | 0.73 | +451 bearers (+26.5%) | Up 1,755 places |
| 2020 | #13,789 | 2,099 | 0.70 | -52 bearers (-2.4%) | Up 215 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 Aldape 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 | #14,004 | #13,789 | 1.5% |
| Count | 2,151 | 2,099 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.70 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Aldape bearers went from 2,151 to 2,099 (-2.4% change). The surname moved up 215 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,004 to #13,789.
FAQ
Aldape surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Aldape?
Name Census estimates that about 2,407 living Americans carry the surname Aldape. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 142,399 residents.
How common is Aldape?
Aldape ranks #13,789 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 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 2,099 people with the surname Aldape. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,407), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 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 Aldape.
Has Aldape become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Aldape went from 2,151 recorded bearers to 2,099. That is a decrease of 52 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,004 to #13,789.
What does the Census say about the background of Aldape?
Among Census respondents with the surname Aldape, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.5%. The next largest groups are White (7.8%) and Two or More Races (0.7%). 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 Aldape in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.5% (1,899 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Aldape appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (90.5%), White (7.8%), Two or More Races (0.7%). 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 Aldape (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 Aldape mean?
A Basque surname referring to someone who lived near an alder grove or alder-covered hill. 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 Aldape (0.70 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 Aldape?
Find out how many people are called Aldape on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.