2000
#2,648
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,543
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.65
Uncommon Last name
Covarrubias
From a place name referring to caves and reddish soil in the Burgos province of Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 19,721 Americans carry the last name Covarrubias. That puts it at #2,053 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 17,380 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Covarrubias 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
20K
1 in 17,380
Census rank
#2,053
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
17K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 17,198 bearers of the surname Covarrubias in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2053rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Covarrubias, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.5%) and Two or More Races (0.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Covarrubias
The surname COVARRUBIAS originated in Spain. It is a toponymic surname derived from the place name Covarrubias, a municipality located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León. The name is believed to have originated during the Reconquista period, when surnames became more widely adopted in the region.
The name Covarrubias is likely derived from the Latin words "cova" meaning cave and "rubea" meaning red or reddish, possibly referring to a geographic feature or the color of the soil in the area. In the medieval era, the town of Covarrubias was an important center of religious learning and culture, with a renowned monastery and library.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname COVARRUBIAS dates back to the 13th century, when a nobleman named Garci Fernández de Covarrubias was mentioned in historical documents related to the Kingdom of Castile. In the 15th century, a prominent figure named Diego de Covarrubias y Leyva (1512-1577) served as a Spanish jurist, theologian, and bishop of Segovia.
In the 16th century, Juan de Covarrubias y Horozco (1542-1633) was a renowned Spanish architect and sculptor who contributed to the design and construction of several notable buildings in Madrid and Toledo. Another notable bearer of the name was Miguel Covarrubias (1904-1957), a Mexican artist, anthropologist, and writer who specialized in depicting the indigenous cultures of Mexico and the Americas.
The COVARRUBIAS surname also has a strong presence in the United States, particularly among Hispanic communities with Spanish ancestral roots. One notable American figure with this surname was Alicia Covarrubias (1870-1954), a Chilean-American educator and activist who played a pivotal role in establishing Spanish-language education in California.
Throughout history, the COVARRUBIAS surname has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including scholars, clergy, artists, and public figures, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and contributions of those who bear this name of Spanish origin.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Covarrubias
Among Census respondents with the surname Covarrubias, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.5%) and Two or More Races (0.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Covarrubias 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 Covarrubias surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.5% · 16,427
- White3.5% · 604
- Two or more races0.3% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 52
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 40
- Black or African American0.1% · 22
Timeline
Historical Census data for Covarrubias
Covarrubias 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
#1,985
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,189
+5,646 bearers (+45.0%)
Per 100,000 6.17
Rank movement Up 663 places
2020
#2,053
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,198
-991 bearers (-5.4%)
Per 100,000 5.75
Rank movement Down 68 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,648 | 12,543 | 4.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,985 | 18,189 | 6.17 | +5,646 bearers (+45.0%) | Up 663 places |
| 2020 | #2,053 | 17,198 | 5.75 | -991 bearers (-5.4%) | Down 68 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 Covarrubias 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 | #1,985 | #2,053 | -3.4% |
| Count | 18,189 | 17,198 | -5.4% |
| Per 100K | 6.17 | 5.75 | -6.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Covarrubias bearers went from 18,189 to 17,198 (-5.4% change). The surname moved down 68 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,985 to #2,053.
FAQ
Covarrubias surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Covarrubias?
Name Census estimates that about 19,721 living Americans carry the surname Covarrubias. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 17,380 residents.
How common is Covarrubias?
Covarrubias ranks #2,053 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.75 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 17,198 people with the surname Covarrubias. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (19,721), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.75 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Covarrubias.
Has Covarrubias become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Covarrubias went from 18,189 recorded bearers to 17,198. That is a decrease of 991 (-5.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,985 to #2,053.
What does the Census say about the background of Covarrubias?
Among Census respondents with the surname Covarrubias, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.5%. The next largest groups are White (3.5%) and Two or More Races (0.3%). 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 Covarrubias in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (16,427 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Covarrubias appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (95.5%), White (3.5%), Two or More Races (0.3%). 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 Covarrubias (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 Covarrubias mean?
From a place name referring to caves and reddish soil in the Burgos province of 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 Covarrubias (5.75 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 Covarrubias?
Want to know how many people have the last name Covarrubias? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.