2000
#1,696
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,384
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.19
Uncommon Last name
Cabral
A Portuguese and Galician habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a field or pasture.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 26,368 Americans carry the last name Cabral. That puts it at #1,516 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.69 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,999 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cabral 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 Cabral with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
26K
1 in 12,999
Census rank
#1,516
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
23K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 22,994 bearers of the surname Cabral in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.69 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1516th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cabral, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 46.8%. The next largest groups are White (42.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cabral
The surname Cabral has its origins in Portugal, and it can be traced back to the 14th century. The name is derived from the Portuguese word "cabra," which means "goat," and it was likely given as a descriptive surname to someone who worked with goats or had a physical resemblance to one.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the Cabral name can be found in the "Livro Velho de Linhagens," a Portuguese manuscript from the 14th century that chronicles the genealogies of noble families. The manuscript mentions a Gonçalo Cabral, who served as a knight and participated in the conquest of the Algarve region in southern Portugal in the 13th century.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Cabral name gained prominence due to the exploits of Pedro Álvares Cabral (c. 1467-1520), a Portuguese navigator who is credited with the discovery of Brazil in 1500. Cabral's fleet was the first to make landfall in what is now the South American country, and he claimed the territory for Portugal.
Another notable figure with the Cabral surname was Pedro Cabral de Melo (c. 1510-1572), a Portuguese nobleman and military commander who served as the Governor of Portuguese India from 1568 to 1572. He played a crucial role in defending Portuguese territories in the Indian subcontinent against the challenges posed by the Ottoman Empire and local rulers.
In the 17th century, Miguel Cabral de Noronha (c. 1620-1684) was a Portuguese military commander and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Portuguese Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) from 1677 to 1684. He is remembered for his efforts to strengthen Portuguese defenses and promote economic development in the colony.
Another notable figure with the Cabral surname was José António Cabral (1753-1822), a Portuguese mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the fields of astronomy and geodesy. He was responsible for the reformation of the Portuguese calendar and the establishment of the first observatory in Portugal.
While the Cabral name has its roots in Portugal, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including Brazil, where it is a common surname due to the country's historical ties with Portugal. The name has also been adopted in other Portuguese-speaking countries and regions, such as Goa, where it was brought by Portuguese colonizers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cabral
Among Census respondents with the surname Cabral, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 46.8%. The next largest groups are White (42.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Cabral 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 Cabral surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino46.8% · 10,764
- White42.6% · 9,798
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 1,042
- Black or African American3.1% · 706
- Two or more races2.8% · 638
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 46
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cabral
Cabral 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
#1,557
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,128
+3,744 bearers (+19.3%)
Per 100,000 7.84
Rank movement Up 139 places
2020
#1,516
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,994
-134 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 7.69
Rank movement Up 41 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,696 | 19,384 | 7.19 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,557 | 23,128 | 7.84 | +3,744 bearers (+19.3%) | Up 139 places |
| 2020 | #1,516 | 22,994 | 7.69 | -134 bearers (-0.6%) | Up 41 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 Cabral 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 | #1,557 | #1,516 | 2.6% |
| Count | 23,128 | 22,994 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 7.84 | 7.69 | -1.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cabral bearers went from 23,128 to 22,994 (-0.6% change). The surname moved up 41 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,557 to #1,516.
FAQ
Cabral surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cabral?
Name Census estimates that about 26,368 living Americans carry the surname Cabral. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,999 residents.
How common is Cabral?
Cabral ranks #1,516 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.69 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 22,994 people with the surname Cabral. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (26,368), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.69 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.69 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Cabral.
Has Cabral become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cabral went from 23,128 recorded bearers to 22,994. That is a decrease of 134 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,557 to #1,516.
What does the Census say about the background of Cabral?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cabral, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 46.8%. The next largest groups are White (42.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%). 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 Cabral in the 2020 Census, accounting for 46.8% (10,764 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cabral appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (46.8%), White (42.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%). 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 Cabral (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 Cabral mean?
A Portuguese and Galician habitational surname referring to someone who lived near a field or pasture. 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 Cabral (7.69 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 last name Cabral?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Cabral on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.