2000
#2,680
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,401
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.60
Uncommon Last name
Bustos
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone who lived near shrubs or bushes.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,598 Americans carry the last name Bustos. That puts it at #2,189 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.43 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,430 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Bustos 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
19K
1 in 18,430
Census rank
#2,189
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,218 bearers of the surname Bustos in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.43 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2189th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Bustos, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.0%. The next largest groups are White (6.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Bustos
The surname Bustos is of Spanish origin, derived from the medieval Spanish word "busto," meaning "bust" or "torso." It likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone with a prominent or distinctive bust or torso.
The name can be traced back to the 13th century in the regions of Castile and León in central Spain. Early records show variants of the spelling, such as Bustos, Busto, and Bosto.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name is in the "Fuero de Sepúlveda," a legal code from the late 13th century, which references individuals with the surname Bustos living in the town of Sepúlveda, located in the province of Segovia.
During the 14th century, the name appears in various historical documents, including the "Cancionero de Baena," a poetic anthology compiled around 1445, which mentions a poet named Juan de Bustos.
In the 15th century, the surname gained prominence when Juan de Bustos, a Spanish military leader and explorer, participated in the conquest of the Canary Islands in the early 1400s.
Another notable figure with the surname was Pedro de Bustos, a 16th-century Spanish architect and sculptor who contributed to the construction of several important buildings in Seville, including the Cathedral and the Alcázar.
In the 17th century, Jerónimo de Bustos y Sotelo (1585-1655), a Spanish jurist and writer, served as a judge in the Spanish colonies in the Americas and authored several legal treatises.
The surname Bustos also found its way to the Americas during the Spanish colonization, with individuals bearing the name settling in various regions, including Mexico, Peru, and Argentina.
One notable figure from Latin America was Andrés Bustos (1843-1915), a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as the President of Chile from 1876 to 1881.
Another prominent individual with the surname was Julio César Bustos (1910-1992), an Argentine sculptor known for his monumental public works, including the iconic "Parque de la Memoria" in Buenos Aires.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Bustos
Among Census respondents with the surname Bustos, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.0%. The next largest groups are White (6.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Bustos 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 Bustos surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.0% · 14,112
- White6.6% · 1,076
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.3% · 863
- Two or more races0.5% · 78
- Black or African American0.3% · 45
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 44
Timeline
Historical Census data for Bustos
Bustos 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
#2,129
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,040
+4,639 bearers (+37.4%)
Per 100,000 5.78
Rank movement Up 551 places
2020
#2,189
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,218
-822 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 5.43
Rank movement Down 60 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,680 | 12,401 | 4.60 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,129 | 17,040 | 5.78 | +4,639 bearers (+37.4%) | Up 551 places |
| 2020 | #2,189 | 16,218 | 5.43 | -822 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 60 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 Bustos 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 | #2,129 | #2,189 | -2.8% |
| Count | 17,040 | 16,218 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 5.78 | 5.43 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Bustos bearers went from 17,040 to 16,218 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 60 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,129 to #2,189.
FAQ
Bustos surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Bustos?
Name Census estimates that about 18,598 living Americans carry the surname Bustos. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,430 residents.
How common is Bustos?
Bustos ranks #2,189 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.43 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,218 people with the surname Bustos. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,598), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.43 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.43 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Bustos.
Has Bustos become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Bustos went from 17,040 recorded bearers to 16,218. That is a decrease of 822 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,129 to #2,189.
What does the Census say about the background of Bustos?
Among Census respondents with the surname Bustos, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.0%. The next largest groups are White (6.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.3%). 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 Bustos in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (14,112 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Bustos appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (87.0%), White (6.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.3%). 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 Bustos (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 Bustos mean?
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone who lived near shrubs or bushes. 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 Bustos (5.43 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 have the surname Bustos?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.