2000
#294
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 93,723
First available Census row
Per 100,000 34.74
Common Last name
Alvarado
A toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "the white hill" in Spanish.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 152,575 Americans carry the last name Alvarado. That puts it at #211 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 44.51 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,246 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Alvarado 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Alvarado with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
153K
1 in 2,246
Census rank
#211
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
44.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
133K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 133,053 bearers of the surname Alvarado in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 44.51 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 211th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Alvarado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Alvarado
The surname Alvarado originated in Spain and is derived from the Spanish phrase "al varado", meaning "by the ford" or "near the river crossing". This name likely originated in the medieval period when people were identified by where they lived or worked.
Historically, the name can be traced back to the 13th century in the region of Castile, Spain. Some of the earliest records of the name appear in documents from the city of Burgos, which was an important center of power during the reign of King Alfonso X, known as "El Sabio" (The Wise).
One notable early bearer of the name was Rodrigo Alvarado, a soldier who fought alongside El Cid during the Reconquista, the Christian conquest of Spain from the Moors in the 11th and 12th centuries. Rodrigo Alvarado's name appears in the poem "El Cantar de Mio Cid", an epic work documenting the life of El Cid.
In the 16th century, the Alvarado name gained prominence with Pedro de Alvarado, a Spanish conquistador who led expeditions in Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador. Born in 1485 in Badajoz, Spain, he was a close associate of Hernán Cortés and played a key role in the conquest of the Aztec Empire.
Another notable figure was Alonso de Alvarado, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was part of the expedition led by Francisco Pizarro that conquered the Inca Empire in Peru in the 1530s. He was born around 1500 in Burgos, Spain.
In the 18th century, José Antonio de Alvarado y Navia-Bolaño was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the 40th viceroy of New Spain (present-day Mexico) from 1710 to 1722. He was born in 1668 in Seville, Spain.
As the name spread throughout the Spanish Empire, it became prominent in Latin America, particularly in Mexico, Guatemala, and other parts of Central America. Some well-known historical figures with the Alvarado surname from this region include Juan Bautista Alvarado, a Mexican politician and military officer who served as the governor of California from 1836 to 1842, and Pedro Alvarado, a Guatemalan revolutionary and politician who served as the 17th President of Guatemala from 1822 to 1823.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Alvarado
Among Census respondents with the surname Alvarado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Alvarado 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 Alvarado surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.6% · 124,516
- White4.7% · 6,276
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 935
- Black or African American0.4% · 523
- Two or more races0.3% · 409
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 394
Timeline
Historical Census data for Alvarado
Alvarado 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
#219
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133,501
+39,778 bearers (+42.4%)
Per 100,000 45.26
Rank movement Up 75 places
2020
#211
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133,053
-448 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 44.51
Rank movement Up 8 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #294 | 93,723 | 34.74 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #219 | 133,501 | 45.26 | +39,778 bearers (+42.4%) | Up 75 places |
| 2020 | #211 | 133,053 | 44.51 | -448 bearers (-0.3%) | Up 8 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 Alvarado 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 | #219 | #211 | 3.7% |
| Count | 133,501 | 133,053 | -0.3% |
| Per 100K | 45.26 | 44.51 | -1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Alvarado bearers went from 133,501 to 133,053 (-0.3% change). The surname moved up 8 positions in the national ranking, going from #219 to #211.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Alvarado
FAQ
Alvarado surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Alvarado?
Name Census estimates that about 152,575 living Americans carry the surname Alvarado. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,246 residents.
How common is Alvarado?
Alvarado ranks #211 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 44.51 per 100,000 residents, which is about 45 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 133,053 people with the surname Alvarado. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (152,575), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 44.51 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 44.51 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 45 of them to have the surname Alvarado.
Has Alvarado become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Alvarado went from 133,501 recorded bearers to 133,053. That is a decrease of 448 (-0.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #219 to #211.
What does the Census say about the background of Alvarado?
Among Census respondents with the surname Alvarado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Alvarado in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.6% (124,516 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Alvarado appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.6%), White (4.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Alvarado (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 Alvarado mean?
A toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "the white hill" in Spanish. 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 Alvarado (44.51 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 Americans have the surname Alvarado?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.