2000
#6,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,018
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.86
Rare Last name
Buenrostro
A Spanish surname derived from the words "buen" (good) and "rostro" (face), referring to someone with a pleasant appearance.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,592 Americans carry the last name Buenrostro. That puts it at #5,117 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,147 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Buenrostro 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
7.6K
1 in 45,147
Census rank
#5,117
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,621 bearers of the surname Buenrostro in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5117th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Buenrostro, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Buenrostro
The surname BUENROSTRO originates from Spain. It is a combination of the Spanish words "buen" meaning good and "rostro" meaning face. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone with an attractive or pleasant-looking face.
The earliest recorded instances of the BUENROSTRO name date back to the 16th century in various regions of Spain, such as Andalusia, Castile, and Aragon. It is believed to have originated as a descriptive nickname or reference to a person's physical appearance before becoming an inherited surname.
In the late 15th century, a man named Pedro Buenrostro was mentioned in documents from the city of Seville, making him one of the earliest known individuals with this surname. Another early record is Juan Buenrostro, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century.
During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the BUENROSTRO name spread to various parts of the New World, including Mexico, Guatemala, and other Central and South American countries. Notable individuals with this surname include:
1. Miguel Buenrostro (1619-1683), a Spanish-born Jesuit priest who worked as a missionary in Mexico in the 17th century.
2. Juana Buenrostro (1724-1801), a renowned painter from Mexico City during the colonial era.
3. Ignacio Buenrostro (1782-1864), a Mexican military officer who fought in the Mexican War of Independence against Spain.
4. Mariano Buenrostro (1837-1914), a Mexican writer and journalist who advocated for indigenous rights and education reform.
5. Raúl Buenrostro (1918-2002), a Mexican artist and sculptor known for his abstract and modernist works.
While the BUENROSTRO surname has a long history in Spain and Latin America, it has also been found in other parts of the world due to immigration and migration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Buenrostro
Among Census respondents with the surname Buenrostro, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Buenrostro 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 Buenrostro surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.3% · 6,373
- White3.0% · 197
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 21
- Black or African American0.2% · 14
- Two or more races0.2% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Buenrostro
Buenrostro 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
#5,060
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,931
+1,913 bearers (+38.1%)
Per 100,000 2.35
Rank movement Up 1,199 places
2020
#5,117
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,621
-310 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 2.22
Rank movement Down 57 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,259 | 5,018 | 1.86 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,060 | 6,931 | 2.35 | +1,913 bearers (+38.1%) | Up 1,199 places |
| 2020 | #5,117 | 6,621 | 2.22 | -310 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 57 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 Buenrostro 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 | #5,060 | #5,117 | -1.1% |
| Count | 6,931 | 6,621 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 2.35 | 2.22 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Buenrostro bearers went from 6,931 to 6,621 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 57 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,060 to #5,117.
FAQ
Buenrostro surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Buenrostro?
Name Census estimates that about 7,592 living Americans carry the surname Buenrostro. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,147 residents.
How common is Buenrostro?
Buenrostro ranks #5,117 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.22 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,621 people with the surname Buenrostro. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,592), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.22 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Buenrostro.
Has Buenrostro become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Buenrostro went from 6,931 recorded bearers to 6,621. That is a decrease of 310 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #5,060 to #5,117.
What does the Census say about the background of Buenrostro?
Among Census respondents with the surname Buenrostro, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.3%. The next largest groups are White (3.0%) 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 Buenrostro in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.3% (6,373 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Buenrostro appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (96.3%), White (3.0%), 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 Buenrostro (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 Buenrostro mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the words "buen" (good) and "rostro" (face), referring to someone with a pleasant appearance. 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 Buenrostro (2.22 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 Buenrostro?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Buenrostro at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.