2010
#157,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.03
Very Rare Last name
Batungbacal
A surname of Filipino origin referring to a person from the location Batungbacal.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Batungbacal. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Batungbacal 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Batungbacal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Batungbacal, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (17.0%) and Hispanic (14.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Batungbacal
The surname Batungbacal has its origins rooted in the Philippines, specifically in the Visayan region of the country. Its earliest traces can be found in the remote villages and towns of the central Philippine islands, dating back to the late 16th century.
Batungbacal is believed to be derived from the Visayan words "batung" meaning "rock" or "stone," and "bacal" which translates to "river." This combination suggests that the name may have initially referred to a geographic location characterized by a rocky or stone-filled river, potentially describing the homeland of the family's ancestors.
Historical records from Spanish colonial archives mention the name Batungbacal in several land ownership documents and tax registries from the late 1600s. One such reference is found in the Magellan Codex, a collection of manuscripts detailing the early Spanish expeditions to the Philippines, where a "Juan Batungbacal" is listed as a landowner in the town of Leyte in 1687.
The earliest known individual bearing this surname was Pedro Batungbacal, born in the village of Himamaylan, Negros Occidental, in 1615. He was a respected leader in his community and is believed to have been one of the first to adopt the surname during the Spanish decree that mandated the use of surnames for taxation purposes.
Another notable figure was Maria Batungbacal, a prominent writer and poet from the town of Bogo, Cebu, who lived in the late 18th century. Her works, though largely unpreserved, are said to have captured the essence of Visayan culture and traditions.
In the 19th century, the name gained prominence with the rise of Teodoro Batungbacal, a prominent educator and advocate for the preservation of indigenous languages. He established several schools in the Visayas region and authored several books on Visayan grammar and literature, cementing his legacy as a pioneer in Philippine education.
The Batungbacal family also produced notable figures in the religious realm, such as Father Benito Batungbacal, a Jesuit priest who played a significant role in the establishment of Catholic missions in the Visayas during the late 1800s.
As the Batungbacal surname spread across the Philippines, it retained its strong ties to the Visayan region, with many descendants continuing to reside in the central islands of the archipelago.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Batungbacal
Among Census respondents with the surname Batungbacal, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (17.0%) and Hispanic (14.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Batungbacal 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 Batungbacal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander62.5% · 70
- Two or more races17.0% · 19
- Hispanic or Latino14.3% · 16
- White6.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Batungbacal
Batungbacal 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
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+9 bearers (+8.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 9,280 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #157,234 | 103 | 0.03 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.7%) | Up 9,280 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 Batungbacal 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 | #157,234 | #147,954 | 5.9% |
| Count | 103 | 112 | 8.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.03 | 0.04 | 24.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Batungbacal bearers went from 103 to 112 (+8.7% change). The surname moved up 9,280 positions in the national ranking, going from #157,234 to #147,954.
FAQ
Batungbacal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Batungbacal?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Batungbacal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Batungbacal?
Batungbacal ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Batungbacal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Batungbacal.
Has Batungbacal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Batungbacal went from 103 recorded bearers to 112. That is an increase of 9 (+8.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #157,234 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Batungbacal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Batungbacal, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 62.5%. The next largest groups are Two or More Races (17.0%) and Hispanic (14.3%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Batungbacal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.5% (70 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Batungbacal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (62.5%), Two or More Races (17.0%), Hispanic (14.3%). 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 Batungbacal (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 Batungbacal mean?
A surname of Filipino origin referring to a person from the location Batungbacal. 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 Batungbacal (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 many people share the surname Batungbacal?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.