2000
#87,729
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 197
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.07
Very Rare Last name
Armesto
A surname originating from northwestern Spain, possibly derived from a place name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 267 Americans carry the last name Armesto. That puts it at #86,153 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,283,724 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Armesto 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
267
1 in 1,283,724
Census rank
#86,153
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
233
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 233 bearers of the surname Armesto in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 86153rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Armesto, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.0%. The next largest groups are White (13.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Armesto
The surname Armesto has its origins in the Galician region of northwestern Spain. It is believed to have derived from the Latin words "armus" meaning "shoulder" and "estus" meaning "heat" or "warmth." This combination suggests the name may have referred to someone who worked near a forge or other source of heat.
The earliest known record of the Armesto name dates back to the 11th century, appearing in a manuscript from the Monastery of San Salvador de Celanova in Ourense, Spain. This document mentions a landowner named Rodrigo Armesto who donated property to the monastery in 1092.
During the Middle Ages, the Armesto family was prominent in the Galician nobility. One notable figure was Pedro Fernández de Armesto, a knight who fought alongside King Alfonso VII of León and Castile in the 12th century Reconquista campaigns against the Moors.
In the 15th century, the Armesto name can be found in records from the town of Betanzos, near A Coruña. A merchant named Juan de Armesto is mentioned in documents from 1482 as a prominent citizen and landowner in the area.
The 16th century saw the Armesto family expand its influence throughout Spain and its colonies. Álvaro de Armesto, born in 1525 in Santiago de Compostela, was a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to Mexico and served as a captain under Pedro de Valdivia in the conquest of Chile.
Another notable figure was Fray Diego de Armesto, a Franciscan friar born in Pontevedra in 1587. He traveled to the Americas as a missionary and authored several works on the indigenous languages and cultures of Colombia and Venezuela.
As the Armesto name spread, it also developed regional variations in spelling, such as Armestro, Armestoa, and Armestuy. Despite these variations, the name has maintained its roots in the Galician region of Spain for over a millennium.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Armesto
Among Census respondents with the surname Armesto, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.0%. The next largest groups are White (13.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Armesto 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 Armesto surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino82.0% · 191
- White13.3% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 10
- Two or more races0.4% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Armesto
Armesto 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
#79,075
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 241
+44 bearers (+22.3%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Up 8,654 places
2020
#86,153
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 233
-8 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 0.08
Rank movement Down 7,078 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #87,729 | 197 | 0.07 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #79,075 | 241 | 0.08 | +44 bearers (+22.3%) | Up 8,654 places |
| 2020 | #86,153 | 233 | 0.08 | -8 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 7,078 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 Armesto 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 | #79,075 | #86,153 | -9.0% |
| Count | 241 | 233 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.08 | 0.08 | -2.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Armesto bearers went from 241 to 233 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 7,078 positions in the national ranking, going from #79,075 to #86,153.
FAQ
Armesto surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Armesto?
Name Census estimates that about 267 living Americans carry the surname Armesto. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,283,724 residents.
How common is Armesto?
Armesto ranks #86,153 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.08 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 233 people with the surname Armesto. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (267), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.08 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.08 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Armesto.
Has Armesto become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Armesto went from 241 recorded bearers to 233. That is a decrease of 8 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #79,075 to #86,153.
What does the Census say about the background of Armesto?
Among Census respondents with the surname Armesto, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.0%. The next largest groups are White (13.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). 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 Armesto in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (191 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Armesto appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (82.0%), White (13.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). 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 Armesto (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 Armesto mean?
A surname originating from northwestern Spain, possibly derived from a place name. 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 Armesto (0.08 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 Armesto?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Armesto is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.