2000
#7,794
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,933
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.46
Rare Last name
Atencio
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone from Atienza, a town in the province of Guadalajara, Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,109 Americans carry the last name Atencio. That puts it at #7,224 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 67,088 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Atencio 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
5.1K
1 in 67,088
Census rank
#7,224
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,455 bearers of the surname Atencio in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7224th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Atencio, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 74.1%. The next largest groups are White (16.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Atencio
The surname Atencio originates from Spain and dates back to the 15th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "atención," which means "attention" or "care." The name likely referred to someone who was attentive, careful, or meticulous in their work or conduct.
The earliest recorded instances of the Atencio surname can be found in various historical documents from the regions of Aragon and Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include Juan Atencio, a merchant from Barcelona who lived in the late 15th century, and María Atencio, a landowner from Zaragoza in the early 16th century.
In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Atencio surname began to spread beyond Spain, as Spanish explorers, colonists, and missionaries traveled to the Americas. One notable figure was Fray Tomás Atencio, a Franciscan friar who accompanied the Spanish expedition to New Mexico in the late 16th century and played a role in the early evangelization efforts in the region.
During the colonial era, the Atencio surname became established in various parts of Spanish America, particularly in present-day Mexico and parts of Central America. In the 18th century, Pedro Atencio was a prominent landowner and rancher in the region of Nuevo León, Mexico, while José Atencio was a respected silversmith and artisan in Guatemala City.
As the centuries passed, the Atencio surname continued to be found throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In the 19th century, Manuel Atencio was a notable military officer who fought in the Mexican-American War, and Joaquín Atencio was a renowned poet and writer from Colombia.
Other notable individuals with the Atencio surname include Félix Atencio (1887-1964), a Mexican-American artist and muralist; Javier Atencio (1909-1987), a Peruvian novelist and essayist; and Andrés Atencio (1933-2020), a Venezuelan composer and musician who helped popularize the joropo musical genre.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Atencio
Among Census respondents with the surname Atencio, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 74.1%. The next largest groups are White (16.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Atencio 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 Atencio surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino74.1% · 3,300
- White16.3% · 727
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.8% · 259
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 99
- Two or more races1.3% · 57
- Black or African American0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Atencio
Atencio 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
#7,477
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,456
+523 bearers (+13.3%)
Per 100,000 1.51
Rank movement Up 317 places
2020
#7,224
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,455
-1 bearers (-0.0%)
Per 100,000 1.49
Rank movement Up 253 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #7,794 | 3,933 | 1.46 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,477 | 4,456 | 1.51 | +523 bearers (+13.3%) | Up 317 places |
| 2020 | #7,224 | 4,455 | 1.49 | -1 bearers (-0.0%) | Up 253 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 Atencio 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 | #7,477 | #7,224 | 3.4% |
| Count | 4,456 | 4,455 | -0.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.51 | 1.49 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Atencio bearers went from 4,456 to 4,455 (+-0.0% change). The surname moved up 253 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,477 to #7,224.
FAQ
Atencio surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Atencio?
Name Census estimates that about 5,109 living Americans carry the surname Atencio. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 67,088 residents.
How common is Atencio?
Atencio ranks #7,224 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.49 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 4,455 people with the surname Atencio. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,109), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.49 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 Atencio.
Has Atencio become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Atencio went from 4,456 recorded bearers to 4,455. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,477 to #7,224.
What does the Census say about the background of Atencio?
Among Census respondents with the surname Atencio, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 74.1%. The next largest groups are White (16.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.8%). 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 Atencio in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.1% (3,300 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Atencio appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (74.1%), White (16.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (5.8%). 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 Atencio (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 Atencio mean?
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone from Atienza, a town in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. 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 Atencio (1.49 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 Atencio?
Find out how many people have the last name Atencio on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.