2010
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Bitsoi
A Navajo surname meaning "mule deer with white stocking feet".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Bitsoi. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bitsoi 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Bitsoi in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bitsoi, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 84.0%. The next largest groups are White (9.2%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bitsoi
The surname Bitsoi has its origins in the Navajo language and culture of the southwestern United States. It is believed to have emerged in the late 18th or early 19th century among the Navajo people, who are an Indigenous nation with roots in the Four Corners region where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado meet.
The name Bitsoi is thought to be derived from the Navajo word "bits'iis," which means "flat" or "broad." This may have been a descriptive name referring to a physical characteristic or a reference to a specific geographic location associated with the family.
While written records of Navajo surnames are relatively scarce from the early periods, the name Bitsoi is known to have appeared in various documents and records kept by the United States government and tribal authorities in the 19th and 20th centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Bitsoi was Hosteen Bitsoi, a Navajo leader and medicine man who lived in the mid-19th century. He was renowned for his knowledge of traditional Navajo healing practices and played a significant role in preserving and transmitting Navajo culture and traditions.
Another notable figure was Bitsui Bitsui, a Navajo silversmith and artist who was born in 1872 and is recognized for his contributions to the development of Navajo silversmithing and jewelry-making.
In the 20th century, Carl Bitsoi (1924-2013) was a prominent Navajo artist and educator who taught at the Institute of American Indian Arts and helped to promote and preserve Navajo art and culture.
Wilma P. Bitsoi (1927-2005) was a Navajo linguist and educator who worked tirelessly to document and preserve the Navajo language. She contributed significantly to the development of Navajo language curricula and resources.
Lastly, Shonto Begay Bitsoi (1936-2015) was a highly respected Navajo Code Talker who served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, using the Navajo language to transmit coded messages that were crucial to the Allied forces' success.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bitsoi
Among Census respondents with the surname Bitsoi, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 84.0%. The next largest groups are White (9.2%) and Two or More Races (5.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Bitsoi 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 Bitsoi surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- American Indian and Alaska Native84.0% · 100
- White9.2% · 11
- Two or more races5.9% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bitsoi
Bitsoi 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
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
+9 bearers (+8.2%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,607 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.2%) | Up 6,607 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 Bitsoi 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 | #149,395 | #142,788 | 4.4% |
| Count | 110 | 119 | 8.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -0.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bitsoi bearers went from 110 to 119 (+8.2% change). The surname moved up 6,607 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #142,788.
FAQ
Bitsoi surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bitsoi?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Bitsoi. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Bitsoi?
Bitsoi ranks #142,788 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 119 people with the surname Bitsoi. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), 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 Bitsoi.
Has Bitsoi become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bitsoi went from 110 recorded bearers to 119. That is an increase of 9 (+8.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #149,395 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Bitsoi?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bitsoi, the largest self-reported group is American Indian/Alaska Native at 84.0%. The next largest groups are White (9.2%) and Two or More Races (5.9%). 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?
American Indian/Alaska Native is the largest self-reported group for the surname Bitsoi in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.0% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bitsoi appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are American Indian/Alaska Native (84.0%), White (9.2%), Two or More Races (5.9%). 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 Bitsoi (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 Bitsoi mean?
A Navajo surname meaning "mule deer with white stocking feet". 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 Bitsoi (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 Americans have the surname Bitsoi?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.