2000
#1,089
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,418
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.91
Uncommon Last name
Bernal
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone from Bernal, a village in Castile, Spain, or any of several other places named Bernal.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 44,412 Americans carry the last name Bernal. That puts it at #883 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 12.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,718 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bernal 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Bernal with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
44K
1 in 7,718
Census rank
#883
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
39K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 38,729 bearers of the surname Bernal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 12.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 883rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bernal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bernal
The surname Bernal originates from Spain and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the Spanish place name Bernal, which in turn comes from the Latin word "barnalis" meaning "a field for storing grain and crops."
The earliest recorded instance of the name Bernal can be found in a charter document from the year 1166, which mentions a landowner named Petrus de Bernal in the region of Castile. This suggests that the name was already well-established in Spain by the 12th century.
In the 13th century, the name appears in various official records and manuscripts, including the Libro de la Montería, a hunting treatise written for King Alfonso XI of Castile in the 14th century. This text mentions a place called "Bernal de Parraces" in the province of Soria.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Bernal surname was Diego Bernal, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. He was born around 1495 in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia.
Another notable figure with the Bernal surname was Agustín Bernal del Río y Rivas (1567-1655), a Spanish theologian and writer who served as the Bishop of Calahorra and La Calzada in the early 17th century.
In the 18th century, José Bernal y Velázquez (1710-1782) was a prominent Spanish architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Madrid, including the Royal Palace of Aranjuez.
The Bernal surname also has a rich history in Latin America, where it was brought by Spanish colonists and immigrants. One notable figure was José María Bernal (1794-1865), a Mexican politician and military leader who served as the Governor of Jalisco during the Mexican-American War.
Another significant bearer of the Bernal name was Marcelino Bernal y Uraga (1842-1904), a Mexican businessman and industrialist who played a crucial role in the development of the mining industry in northern Mexico during the late 19th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bernal
Among Census respondents with the surname Bernal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Bernal 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 Bernal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino88.3% · 34,194
- White7.5% · 2,914
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 1,038
- Two or more races0.6% · 232
- Black or African American0.5% · 187
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 164
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bernal
Bernal 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
#873
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 39,693
+10,275 bearers (+34.9%)
Per 100,000 13.46
Rank movement Up 216 places
2020
#883
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 38,729
-964 bearers (-2.4%)
Per 100,000 12.96
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,089 | 29,418 | 10.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #873 | 39,693 | 13.46 | +10,275 bearers (+34.9%) | Up 216 places |
| 2020 | #883 | 38,729 | 12.96 | -964 bearers (-2.4%) | Down 10 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 Bernal 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 | #873 | #883 | -1.1% |
| Count | 39,693 | 38,729 | -2.4% |
| Per 100K | 13.46 | 12.96 | -3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bernal bearers went from 39,693 to 38,729 (-2.4% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #873 to #883.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Bernal
FAQ
Bernal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bernal?
Name Census estimates that about 44,412 living Americans carry the surname Bernal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,718 residents.
How common is Bernal?
Bernal ranks #883 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 12.96 per 100,000 residents, which is about 13 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 38,729 people with the surname Bernal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (44,412), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 12.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 12.96 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 13 of them to have the surname Bernal.
Has Bernal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bernal went from 39,693 recorded bearers to 38,729. That is a decrease of 964 (-2.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #873 to #883.
What does the Census say about the background of Bernal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bernal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Bernal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (34,194 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bernal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (88.3%), White (7.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Bernal (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 Bernal mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone from Bernal, a village in Castile, Spain, or any of several other places named Bernal. 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 Bernal (12.96 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 Bernal?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.