2000
#136,783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 113
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Coya
A surname possibly originating from the Quechua language referring to an Incan ruler or royalty.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 119 Americans carry the last name Coya. That puts it at #153,590 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,880,289 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coya 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
119
1 in 2,880,289
Census rank
#153,590
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
104
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 104 bearers of the surname Coya in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 153590th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coya, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 76.9%. The next largest groups are White (21.2%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Coya
The surname COYA is believed to have originated in Spain, specifically in the Basque region. It is thought to derive from the Basque word "koia," which means "hut" or "small dwelling." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived in a small hut or cottage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name COYA appears in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a medieval manuscript from the 10th century that contains various legal documents and records from the region of La Rioja in northern Spain. In this manuscript, a person named Coya Sánchez is mentioned as a landowner.
The surname COYA can also be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías, a 14th-century census and tax record of the kingdom of Castile. This document lists several individuals with the surname, indicating that the name was present in various parts of northern Spain during that time period.
One notable individual with the surname COYA was Juan de Coya, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to Mexico. He was born around 1490 in the town of Orduña, in the Basque region of Spain.
Another prominent figure with this surname was Pedro de Coya, a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the province of Pánuco in New Spain (present-day Mexico) in the late 16th century.
In the 17th century, a man named Andrés de Coya y Guzmán was a prominent landowner and cattle rancher in the region of Extremadura, Spain. He was involved in several disputes over land ownership and grazing rights, which were documented in legal records from the time.
Another noteworthy individual with the surname COYA was María de Coya, a 17th-century nun and writer who lived in the convent of Santa Clara in Seville, Spain. She wrote several religious works and was known for her pious and scholarly life.
In the 18th century, a man named Francisco Javier de Coya y Mendoza served as a colonial administrator and judge in the Viceroyalty of Peru. He was born in 1712 in the city of Trujillo, in the region of Extremadura, Spain.
These are just a few examples of individuals with the surname COYA who have left their mark throughout history, particularly in Spain and its former colonies in the Americas. The name's origins can be traced back to the Basque region and its connection to small dwellings or huts, reflecting the geographic and linguistic diversity of Spain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coya
Among Census respondents with the surname Coya, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 76.9%. The next largest groups are White (21.2%) and Two or More Races (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Coya 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 Coya surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino76.9% · 80
- White21.2% · 22
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coya
Coya 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
#141,140
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+5 bearers (+4.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,357 places
2020
#153,590
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
-14 bearers (-11.9%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 12,450 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #136,783 | 113 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #141,140 | 118 | 0.04 | +5 bearers (+4.4%) | Down 4,357 places |
| 2020 | #153,590 | 104 | 0.03 | -14 bearers (-11.9%) | Down 12,450 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 Coya 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 | #141,140 | #153,590 | -8.8% |
| Count | 118 | 104 | -11.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coya bearers went from 118 to 104 (-11.9% change). The surname moved down 12,450 positions in the national ranking, going from #141,140 to #153,590.
FAQ
Coya surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coya?
Name Census estimates that about 119 living Americans carry the surname Coya. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,880,289 residents.
How common is Coya?
Coya ranks #153,590 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 104 people with the surname Coya. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Coya.
Has Coya become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coya went from 118 recorded bearers to 104. That is a decrease of 14 (-11.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #141,140 to #153,590.
What does the Census say about the background of Coya?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coya, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 76.9%. The next largest groups are White (21.2%) and Two or More Races (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 Coya in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.9% (80 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coya appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (76.9%), White (21.2%), Two or More Races (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 Coya (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 Coya mean?
A surname possibly originating from the Quechua language referring to an Incan ruler or royalty. 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 Coya (0.03 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 Coya?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.