2000
#3,230
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,158
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.77
Uncommon Last name
Cintron
A Spanish surname derived from the place name Cintrón, likely referring to a person from that location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 14,442 Americans carry the last name Cintron. That puts it at #2,786 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 4.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 23,733 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cintron 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
14K
1 in 23,733
Census rank
#2,786
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
4.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
13K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 12,594 bearers of the surname Cintron in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 4.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2786th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cintron, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.5%) and Black (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cintron
The surname Cintron is of Spanish origin, tracing its roots back to the Iberian Peninsula during the medieval era. It is believed to have derived from the place name "Cintruénigo," a municipality located in the northern region of Navarre, Spain.
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in historical documents dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is a mention of a Juan Cintron in a land registry from the year 1327 in the region of Aragon.
Cintruénigo itself is thought to have originated from the Latin phrase "Centum Trucios," which translates to "one hundred fish traps." This suggests that the area was once known for its abundant fishing resources, likely along the nearby Ebro River.
In the 16th century, as the Spanish Empire expanded across the Atlantic, the Cintron name began to appear in records from the newly established colonies. One prominent figure was Rodrigo Cintron (1542-1611), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Chile and later served as a governor in the region.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Cintron family had a strong presence in various parts of the Spanish Americas, including Mexico, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. Notable individuals from this period include María Cintron (1632-1703), a landowner and philanthropist in Havana, Cuba, and Pedro Cintron (1718-1794), a military officer who fought in the American Revolutionary War on the side of the Spanish.
As the Cintron name spread across the Americas, it also underwent slight variations in spelling, such as Cintron, Cintron, and Cintron. However, the core pronunciation and meaning remained consistent.
In more recent centuries, the Cintron surname has been carried by several distinguished individuals, such as José Cintron (1868-1942), a Puerto Rican poet and educator, and Rafael Cintron (1902-1987), a Cuban baseball player who played in the Negro Leagues during the 1920s and 1930s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cintron
Among Census respondents with the surname Cintron, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.5%) and Black (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Cintron 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 Cintron surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.3% · 11,252
- White7.5% · 946
- Black or African American1.9% · 245
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 68
- Two or more races0.5% · 58
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 25
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cintron
Cintron 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
#2,906
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,349
+2,191 bearers (+21.6%)
Per 100,000 4.19
Rank movement Up 324 places
2020
#2,786
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,594
+245 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 4.21
Rank movement Up 120 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,230 | 10,158 | 3.77 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,906 | 12,349 | 4.19 | +2,191 bearers (+21.6%) | Up 324 places |
| 2020 | #2,786 | 12,594 | 4.21 | +245 bearers (+2.0%) | Up 120 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 Cintron 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 | #2,906 | #2,786 | 4.1% |
| Count | 12,349 | 12,594 | 2.0% |
| Per 100K | 4.19 | 4.21 | 0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cintron bearers went from 12,349 to 12,594 (+2.0% change). The surname moved up 120 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,906 to #2,786.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Cintron
FAQ
Cintron surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cintron?
Name Census estimates that about 14,442 living Americans carry the surname Cintron. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 23,733 residents.
How common is Cintron?
Cintron ranks #2,786 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 4.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 12,594 people with the surname Cintron. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (14,442), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 4.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 4.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Cintron.
Has Cintron become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cintron went from 12,349 recorded bearers to 12,594. That is an increase of 245 (+2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,906 to #2,786.
What does the Census say about the background of Cintron?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cintron, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.3%. The next largest groups are White (7.5%) and Black (1.9%). 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 Cintron in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (11,252 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cintron appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (89.3%), White (7.5%), Black (1.9%). 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 Cintron (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 Cintron mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the place name Cintrón, likely referring to a person from that location. 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 Cintron (4.21 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 Cintron?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Cintron on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.