2000
#25,775
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 897
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.33
Rare Last name
Chirinos
A Spanish surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to someone from the town of Chirinos in Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,967 Americans carry the last name Chirinos. That puts it at #11,611 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 115,522 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Chirinos 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
3.0K
1 in 115,522
Census rank
#11,611
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,587 bearers of the surname Chirinos in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11611th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Chirinos, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Black (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Chirinos
The surname "Chirinos" originated in Spain, specifically in the region of Extremadura, during the Middle Ages. It is believed to be derived from the Spanish word "chirino," which means "cork oak." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals who lived or worked in areas abundant with cork oak trees.
The earliest known record of the Chirinos surname dates back to the 13th century, appearing in various historical documents and manuscripts from the region of Extremadura. One notable mention is found in the "Libro de las Behetrías" (Book of the Behetrías), a medieval census compiled in 1352 during the reign of King Pedro I of Castile.
In the 15th century, the Chirinos family gained prominence in the town of Trujillo, Extremadura. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Hernán Chirinos, a nobleman and military commander who participated in the conquest of the Canary Islands in the late 1400s.
During the 16th century, several members of the Chirinos family played notable roles in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Juan Chirinos, born in 1505 in Trujillo, was among the first Spanish settlers in the region that is now known as Venezuela. He served as one of the founding settlers of the city of Cumaná in 1523.
Another notable figure was Diego Chirinos, a Spanish explorer and navigator who was born in Trujillo around 1520. He accompanied various expeditions to the Caribbean and was involved in the exploration and mapping of the coasts of modern-day Colombia and Venezuela.
In the 17th century, Pedro Chirinos y Salazar, born in Lima, Peru, in 1557, became a renowned Jesuit scholar and historian. He authored several works on the history and culture of the indigenous peoples of Peru and is considered one of the earliest ethnographers of the region.
Throughout the centuries, the Chirinos surname has spread across various regions of Spain and Latin America, with notable individuals bearing this name in different fields, including literature, politics, and the arts.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Chirinos
Among Census respondents with the surname Chirinos, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Black (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Chirinos 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 Chirinos surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.5% · 2,420
- White5.7% · 147
- Black or African American0.4% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 6
- Two or more races0.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Chirinos
Chirinos 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
#15,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,948
+1,051 bearers (+117.2%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 10,635 places
2020
#11,611
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,587
+639 bearers (+32.8%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Up 3,529 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #25,775 | 897 | 0.33 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,140 | 1,948 | 0.66 | +1,051 bearers (+117.2%) | Up 10,635 places |
| 2020 | #11,611 | 2,587 | 0.87 | +639 bearers (+32.8%) | Up 3,529 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 Chirinos 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 | #15,140 | #11,611 | 23.3% |
| Count | 1,948 | 2,587 | 32.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.66 | 0.87 | 31.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Chirinos bearers went from 1,948 to 2,587 (+32.8% change). The surname moved up 3,529 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,140 to #11,611.
FAQ
Chirinos surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Chirinos?
Name Census estimates that about 2,967 living Americans carry the surname Chirinos. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 115,522 residents.
How common is Chirinos?
Chirinos ranks #11,611 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.87 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,587 people with the surname Chirinos. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,967), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.87 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.87 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Chirinos.
Has Chirinos become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Chirinos went from 1,948 recorded bearers to 2,587. That is an increase of 639 (+32.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,140 to #11,611.
What does the Census say about the background of Chirinos?
Among Census respondents with the surname Chirinos, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Chirinos in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (2,420 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Chirinos appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.5%), White (5.7%), Black (0.4%). 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 Chirinos (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 Chirinos mean?
A Spanish surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to someone from the town of Chirinos in Spain. 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 Chirinos (0.87 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 Chirinos?
Find out how many people are called Chirinos on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.