2000
#5,608
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,673
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.10
Rare Last name
Caldera
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a volcanic crater or large, basin-shaped depression.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,481 Americans carry the last name Caldera. That puts it at #4,649 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.47 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 40,414 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Caldera 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
8.5K
1 in 40,414
Census rank
#4,649
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,396 bearers of the surname Caldera in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.47 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4649th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Caldera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.8%. The next largest groups are White (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Caldera
Caldera is a surname of Spanish origin, derived from the word "caldera," which means "cauldron" or "boiler" in Spanish. The name likely originated in the medieval period, possibly as an occupational surname for someone who worked with cauldrons or boilers.
The earliest known record of the Caldera surname dates back to the 13th century in the region of Castile, Spain. It is believed that the name may have been associated with the metallurgical industry or the production of weapons, as cauldrons were used for melting metals.
In the 15th century, the Caldera surname appeared in various historical documents, including the Repartimiento de Malaga, a record of land grants and settlements in the region of Malaga after its reconquest by the Catholic Monarchs in 1487.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the Caldera surname was Juan Caldera, a Spanish soldier and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century.
Another notable figure was Pedro Caldera, a Spanish scholar and theologian who lived in the 16th century. He was a renowned professor at the University of Salamanca and authored several works on theology and philosophy.
In the 17th century, Diego Caldera was a prominent Spanish painter known for his religious works and portraits. He was active in Madrid and is considered one of the leading figures of the Spanish Baroque period.
Gaspar Caldera de Heredia, a Spanish nobleman and military officer, played a significant role in the conquest of the Canary Islands in the late 15th century. He was appointed as the first governor of Gran Canaria in 1483.
Francisco Caldera y Heredia, born in 1637 in Seville, Spain, was a renowned architect and engineer. He designed several notable buildings in Seville, including the Hospital de la Santa Caridad and the Baroque façade of the Palacio Arzobispal.
The Caldera surname has been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Caldera de Taburiente, a volcanic crater on the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, and Caldera de Bandama, a volcanic caldera located in the Canary Islands.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Caldera
Among Census respondents with the surname Caldera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.8%. The next largest groups are White (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Caldera 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 Caldera surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino88.8% · 6,565
- White9.2% · 677
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 55
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 55
- Two or more races0.4% · 30
- Black or African American0.2% · 14
Timeline
Historical Census data for Caldera
Caldera 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
#4,542
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,802
+2,129 bearers (+37.5%)
Per 100,000 2.64
Rank movement Up 1,066 places
2020
#4,649
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,396
-406 bearers (-5.2%)
Per 100,000 2.47
Rank movement Down 107 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,608 | 5,673 | 2.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,542 | 7,802 | 2.64 | +2,129 bearers (+37.5%) | Up 1,066 places |
| 2020 | #4,649 | 7,396 | 2.47 | -406 bearers (-5.2%) | Down 107 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 Caldera 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 | #4,542 | #4,649 | -2.4% |
| Count | 7,802 | 7,396 | -5.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.64 | 2.47 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Caldera bearers went from 7,802 to 7,396 (-5.2% change). The surname moved down 107 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,542 to #4,649.
FAQ
Caldera surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Caldera?
Name Census estimates that about 8,481 living Americans carry the surname Caldera. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 40,414 residents.
How common is Caldera?
Caldera ranks #4,649 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.47 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 7,396 people with the surname Caldera. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,481), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.47 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.47 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 Caldera.
Has Caldera become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Caldera went from 7,802 recorded bearers to 7,396. That is a decrease of 406 (-5.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,542 to #4,649.
What does the Census say about the background of Caldera?
Among Census respondents with the surname Caldera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.8%. The next largest groups are White (9.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%). 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 Caldera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.8% (6,565 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Caldera appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (88.8%), White (9.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%). 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 Caldera (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 Caldera mean?
A topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a volcanic crater or large, basin-shaped depression. 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 Caldera (2.47 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 Caldera?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.