2000
#13,971
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,982
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.73
Rare Last name
Anzaldua
A Basque surname derived from the place name Anzaldo, meaning "place of the hill" or "place of the height."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,704 Americans carry the last name Anzaldua. That puts it at #12,545 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.79 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 126,758 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Anzaldua 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
2.7K
1 in 126,758
Census rank
#12,545
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,358 bearers of the surname Anzaldua in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.79 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12545th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Anzaldua, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.8%. The next largest groups are White (10.6%) and Two or More Races (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Anzaldua
The surname Anzaldua has its origins in the Basque region of Spain and France, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Basque words "antz," meaning "appearance" or "resemblance," and "aldua," meaning "near" or "close." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a distinctive landmark or bore a resemblance to someone or something notable.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Becerro Antiguo, a 14th-century manuscript that documented the lineages of noble families in the Basque Country. This record mentions an individual named Juan Anzaldua, who was a prominent landowner in the town of Vitoria-Gasteiz.
During the 15th century, the Anzaldua family played a significant role in the ongoing conflicts between the kingdoms of Castile and Navarre. In 1452, Pedro Anzaldua, a skilled military commander, led a contingent of Basque troops in the Battle of Aibar, where they fought alongside the Navarrese forces against the Castilian army.
In the 16th century, the Anzaldua name appeared in various municipal records and property deeds across the Basque provinces. One notable figure from this period was Catalina Anzaldua, a wealthy landowner and philanthropist who donated a substantial portion of her estate to the construction of a hospital in the town of Bilbao in 1567.
The 17th century saw the migration of several Anzaldua families to the New World, particularly to the Spanish colonies in Mexico and the Caribbean. One such individual was Rodrigo Anzaldua, who arrived in Veracruz, Mexico, in 1621 and later became a prominent merchant and landowner in the region.
In the 19th century, José María Anzaldua, born in 1808 in San Sebastian, Spain, was a notable writer and philosopher who advocated for Basque cultural preservation and autonomy. His works, including "Ensayos sobre la Identidad Vasca" (Essays on Basque Identity), were influential in shaping the Basque nationalist movement of that era.
Throughout history, the Anzaldua surname has been associated with various locations and place names in the Basque region, such as Anzaldua (a municipality in Álava), Anzaldueta (a village in Navarre), and Anzalduondo (a town in Vizcaya). These place names likely originated from the same linguistic roots as the surname itself.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Anzaldua
Among Census respondents with the surname Anzaldua, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.8%. The next largest groups are White (10.6%) and Two or More Races (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Anzaldua 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 Anzaldua surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.8% · 2,071
- White10.6% · 251
- Two or more races0.7% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 6
- Black or African American0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Anzaldua
Anzaldua 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
#13,190
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,317
+335 bearers (+16.9%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Up 781 places
2020
#12,545
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,358
+41 bearers (+1.8%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Up 645 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #13,971 | 1,982 | 0.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,190 | 2,317 | 0.79 | +335 bearers (+16.9%) | Up 781 places |
| 2020 | #12,545 | 2,358 | 0.79 | +41 bearers (+1.8%) | Up 645 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 Anzaldua 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 | #13,190 | #12,545 | 4.9% |
| Count | 2,317 | 2,358 | 1.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.79 | -0.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Anzaldua bearers went from 2,317 to 2,358 (+1.8% change). The surname moved up 645 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,190 to #12,545.
FAQ
Anzaldua surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Anzaldua?
Name Census estimates that about 2,704 living Americans carry the surname Anzaldua. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 126,758 residents.
How common is Anzaldua?
Anzaldua ranks #12,545 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.79 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 2,358 people with the surname Anzaldua. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,704), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.79 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.79 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 Anzaldua.
Has Anzaldua become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Anzaldua went from 2,317 recorded bearers to 2,358. That is an increase of 41 (+1.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,190 to #12,545.
What does the Census say about the background of Anzaldua?
Among Census respondents with the surname Anzaldua, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.8%. The next largest groups are White (10.6%) 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 Anzaldua in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.8% (2,071 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Anzaldua appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (87.8%), White (10.6%), 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 Anzaldua (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 Anzaldua mean?
A Basque surname derived from the place name Anzaldo, meaning "place of the hill" or "place of the height." 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 Anzaldua (0.79 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 Anzaldua?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.