2010
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Barcenilla
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone from the town of Barcenilla.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Barcenilla. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barcenilla 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Barcenilla in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barcenilla, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (16.5%) and Hispanic (13.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barcenilla
The surname Barcenilla is of Spanish origin and is believed to have originated in the medieval period, likely around the 12th or 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Spanish word "barcena," which refers to a small valley or hollow. This suggests that the name may have been originally associated with a particular location or geographical feature.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Barcenilla can be found in various historical documents from the regions of Cantabria and Castile in northern Spain. One notable example is a reference to a certain Pedro de Barcenilla in a legal document from the city of Burgos, dated 1287.
Throughout the centuries, the Barcenilla surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest figures was García de Barcenilla, a Spanish nobleman who served as a military commander during the Reconquista, the long campaign to drive the Moors out of the Iberian Peninsula. He was recorded as participating in the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212, a decisive victory for the Christian forces.
Another historical figure with this surname was Alonso de Barcenilla, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and navigator. He accompanied the famous conquistador Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to the Americas and is said to have played a crucial role in the conquest of Mexico.
In the realm of literature, the name Barcenilla is associated with Juana de Barcenilla, a 17th-century Spanish writer and poet. Her works, which explored themes of love and spirituality, were widely acclaimed during her lifetime and have been preserved in various anthologies.
Moving forward in time, Manuel Barcenilla y Martínez (1813-1892) was a prominent Spanish politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Cortes Generales, Spain's national parliament, during the mid-19th century.
More recently, José Barcenilla (1923-2009) was a Spanish painter and artist renowned for his vibrant and expressive works, which often depicted scenes from everyday life in his native Cantabria region.
While the Barcenilla surname is not among the most common in Spain today, it remains an important part of the country's rich cultural and historical tapestry, with its roots stretching back centuries to the medieval era.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barcenilla
Among Census respondents with the surname Barcenilla, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (16.5%) and Hispanic (13.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Barcenilla 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 Barcenilla surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander57.4% · 66
- Two or more races16.5% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino13.9% · 16
- White10.4% · 12
- Black or African American1.7% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barcenilla
Barcenilla appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+8 bearers (+7.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,871 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +8 bearers (+7.5%) | Up 6,871 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 Barcenilla 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 | #152,628 | #145,757 | 4.5% |
| Count | 107 | 115 | 7.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barcenilla bearers went from 107 to 115 (+7.5% change). The surname moved up 6,871 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #145,757.
FAQ
Barcenilla surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barcenilla?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Barcenilla. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Barcenilla?
Barcenilla ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Barcenilla. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Barcenilla.
Has Barcenilla become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barcenilla went from 107 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 8 (+7.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Barcenilla?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barcenilla, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 57.4%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (16.5%) and Hispanic (13.9%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Barcenilla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.4% (66 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barcenilla appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (57.4%), Two or More Races (16.5%), Hispanic (13.9%). 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 Barcenilla (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 Barcenilla mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone from the town of Barcenilla. 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 Barcenilla (0.04 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 common is the surname Barcenilla?
See how many people are called Barcenilla on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.