2000
#3,264
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,054
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.73
Uncommon Last name
Apodaca
A Basque habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "by the fort" or "place of the fort."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,311 Americans carry the last name Apodaca. That puts it at #3,285 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.59 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 27,841 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Apodaca 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
12K
1 in 27,841
Census rank
#3,285
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 10,736 bearers of the surname Apodaca in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.59 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3285th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Apodaca, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.0%. The next largest groups are White (14.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Apodaca
The surname Apodaca is of Spanish origin, with its roots traced back to the Castilian region of Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to have originated as a toponymic surname, derived from the name of a specific place or geographic location.
One theory suggests that the name Apodaca is derived from the Basque word "apodaka," which means "place of the bailiff" or "the bailiff's dwelling." This connection implies that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been associated with administrative roles or held positions of authority within their local communities.
Another possibility is that the name Apodaca stems from the Spanish word "apodado," meaning "nicknamed." In this case, the surname could have been bestowed upon an individual who was given a specific nickname, which then became adopted as a family name over time.
Historical records indicate that the Apodaca surname can be found in various Spanish documents and manuscripts from the 13th and 14th centuries, suggesting its early establishment as a hereditary surname. One notable mention is in the "Libro de la Montería" (Book of the Hunt), a 14th-century manuscript detailing hunting practices in medieval Spain, which includes references to individuals with the surname Apodaca.
In the 16th century, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Apodaca name began to spread across the new territories. One of the earliest recorded instances is Juan de Apodaca, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico and served as a military leader under Hernán Cortés in the early 1500s.
Another prominent figure bearing this surname was Rodrigo de Apodaca y Pavón (1742-1824), a Spanish naval officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor-General of Cuba from 1812 to 1816.
In the literary realm, the Spanish playwright and poet Antonio de Apodaca (1568-1632) gained recognition for his works during the Golden Age of Spanish literature in the 17th century.
Moving into the 18th century, José María Apodaca y Loreto (1760-1835) was a Spanish military officer and viceroy of New Spain (present-day Mexico) from 1816 to 1821, overseeing the crucial transition period that led to Mexican independence.
More recently, Juan José Apodaca (1916-1998) was a prominent Mexican-American politician who served as the 19th Governor of New Mexico from 1975 to 1979, leaving a lasting impact on the state's political landscape.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Apodaca
Among Census respondents with the surname Apodaca, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.0%. The next largest groups are White (14.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Apodaca 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 Apodaca surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino82.0% · 8,808
- White14.1% · 1,513
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 165
- Two or more races1.3% · 141
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 69
- Black or African American0.4% · 40
Timeline
Historical Census data for Apodaca
Apodaca 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
#3,202
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,280
+1,226 bearers (+12.2%)
Per 100,000 3.82
Rank movement Up 62 places
2020
#3,285
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,736
-544 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 3.59
Rank movement Down 83 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,264 | 10,054 | 3.73 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,202 | 11,280 | 3.82 | +1,226 bearers (+12.2%) | Up 62 places |
| 2020 | #3,285 | 10,736 | 3.59 | -544 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 83 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 Apodaca 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 | #3,202 | #3,285 | -2.6% |
| Count | 11,280 | 10,736 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 3.82 | 3.59 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Apodaca bearers went from 11,280 to 10,736 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 83 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,202 to #3,285.
FAQ
Apodaca surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Apodaca?
Name Census estimates that about 12,311 living Americans carry the surname Apodaca. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 27,841 residents.
How common is Apodaca?
Apodaca ranks #3,285 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.59 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 10,736 people with the surname Apodaca. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,311), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.59 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.59 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Apodaca.
Has Apodaca become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Apodaca went from 11,280 recorded bearers to 10,736. That is a decrease of 544 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,202 to #3,285.
What does the Census say about the background of Apodaca?
Among Census respondents with the surname Apodaca, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.0%. The next largest groups are White (14.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.5%). 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 Apodaca in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (8,808 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Apodaca appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (82.0%), White (14.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.5%). 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 Apodaca (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 Apodaca mean?
A Basque habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "by the fort" or "place of the fort." 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 Apodaca (3.59 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 Apodaca?
If you just want to know how many people are called Apodaca, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.