2000
#28,700
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 781
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.29
Rare Last name
Barrales
A Spanish surname potentially referring to a person from a particular region or place named Barrales.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,318 Americans carry the last name Barrales. That puts it at #22,886 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.38 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 260,056 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Barrales 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
1.3K
1 in 260,056
Census rank
#22,886
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,149 bearers of the surname Barrales in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.38 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 22886th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Barrales, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Barrales
The surname Barrales is believed to have originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish word "barral," which means "jug" or "pitcher." This suggests that the name may have been originally associated with someone who made or sold these types of vessels.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Barrales can be found in a document from the year 1492, which mentions a certain Juan Barrales who lived in the city of Seville. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the southern region of Spain by the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, a family bearing the surname Barrales relocated to the Canary Islands, where they established themselves as prominent landowners and merchants. One notable member of this family was Alonso Barrales (1510-1578), who served as the governor of the island of La Palma for several years.
As the Spanish Empire expanded into the Americas, the name Barrales began to appear in various colonial records. In the late 17th century, a man named Tomás Barrales (1648-1721) was a prominent landowner and cattle rancher in the region of present-day Argentina.
Another notable figure was Pedro Barrales (1780-1856), a Spanish military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars and later served as the governor of the Spanish colony of Cuba from 1842 to 1849.
In the 19th century, a branch of the Barrales family emigrated from Spain to Mexico, where they became involved in the mining industry. One member of this family, José Barrales (1825-1892), was a successful mine owner and philanthropist who helped to establish several schools and hospitals in the region of Zacatecas.
Throughout its history, the surname Barrales has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as the town of Barrales in the province of Ávila, and the village of Barrales de Bureba in the province of Burgos.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Barrales
Among Census respondents with the surname Barrales, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Barrales 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 Barrales surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.0% · 1,092
- White4.0% · 46
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 4
- Two or more races0.2% · 2
- Black or African American0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Barrales
Barrales 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
#20,574
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,288
+507 bearers (+64.9%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Up 8,126 places
2020
#22,886
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,149
-139 bearers (-10.8%)
Per 100,000 0.38
Rank movement Down 2,312 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #28,700 | 781 | 0.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #20,574 | 1,288 | 0.44 | +507 bearers (+64.9%) | Up 8,126 places |
| 2020 | #22,886 | 1,149 | 0.38 | -139 bearers (-10.8%) | Down 2,312 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 Barrales 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 | #20,574 | #22,886 | -11.2% |
| Count | 1,288 | 1,149 | -10.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.44 | 0.38 | -12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Barrales bearers went from 1,288 to 1,149 (-10.8% change). The surname moved down 2,312 positions in the national ranking, going from #20,574 to #22,886.
FAQ
Barrales surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Barrales?
Name Census estimates that about 1,318 living Americans carry the surname Barrales. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 260,056 residents.
How common is Barrales?
Barrales ranks #22,886 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.38 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 1,149 people with the surname Barrales. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,318), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.38 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.38 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 Barrales.
Has Barrales become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Barrales went from 1,288 recorded bearers to 1,149. That is a decrease of 139 (-10.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #20,574 to #22,886.
What does the Census say about the background of Barrales?
Among Census respondents with the surname Barrales, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.3%). 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 Barrales in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.0% (1,092 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Barrales appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (95.0%), White (4.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.3%). 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 Barrales (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 Barrales mean?
A Spanish surname potentially referring to a person from a particular region or place named Barrales. 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 Barrales (0.38 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 Barrales?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.