2000
#2,401
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,835
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.13
Uncommon Last name
Crespo
A descriptive surname referring to someone with curly or frizzy hair, derived from the Spanish and Portuguese word "crespo."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,959 Americans carry the last name Crespo. That puts it at #1,931 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.11 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,354 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Crespo 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Crespo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,354
Census rank
#1,931
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,277 bearers of the surname Crespo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.11 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1931st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Crespo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.7%. The next largest groups are White (8.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Crespo
The surname Crespo originated in Spain and has its roots in the Latin word 'crispus', meaning 'curly' or 'crisp'. The name likely emerged during the medieval period as a descriptive nickname for someone with curly hair.
Crespo is believed to have first appeared in the northern regions of Spain, particularly in Asturias, Cantabria, and parts of Castile and León. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries, with mentions in various historical documents and records from that time.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Pedro Crespo, a 13th-century nobleman from the Kingdom of León. He is mentioned in several chronicles and manuscripts from that era, including the "Crónica General de España" (General Chronicle of Spain).
In the 14th century, the Crespo surname gained prominence in the region of Castile, with several notable individuals bearing the name. One such figure was Alonso Crespo (c. 1320-1390), a respected jurist and legal scholar who served as a judge in the court of King Pedro I of Castile.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Crespo name spread further across Spain and its territories, including the Americas. Juan Crespo (c. 1460-1520), a Spanish conquistador, was among the early explorers and settlers in the Caribbean and Central America.
In the realm of literature, the Crespo surname is associated with the 17th-century Spanish playwright and poet, Juan Ruiz de Alarcón y Crespo (1581-1639). His works, including the famous play "La verdad sospechosa" (The Truth Suspected), are considered classics of the Spanish Golden Age.
Another notable figure with the Crespo surname was Manuel Crespo y Martínez (1798-1870), a Spanish military officer and politician who played a crucial role in the Carlist Wars, serving as a general in the Cristino army.
As the Crespo family branched out across Spain and its colonies, the name underwent various spelling variations, such as Crespo, Crespos, and Crespillo, reflecting regional dialects and influences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Crespo
Among Census respondents with the surname Crespo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.7%. The next largest groups are White (8.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Crespo 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 Crespo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino88.7% · 16,203
- White8.5% · 1,556
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 199
- Black or African American1.0% · 181
- Two or more races0.6% · 117
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 21
Timeline
Historical Census data for Crespo
Crespo 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
#2,042
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,629
+3,794 bearers (+27.4%)
Per 100,000 5.98
Rank movement Up 359 places
2020
#1,931
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,277
+648 bearers (+3.7%)
Per 100,000 6.11
Rank movement Up 111 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,401 | 13,835 | 5.13 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,042 | 17,629 | 5.98 | +3,794 bearers (+27.4%) | Up 359 places |
| 2020 | #1,931 | 18,277 | 6.11 | +648 bearers (+3.7%) | Up 111 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 Crespo 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 | #2,042 | #1,931 | 5.4% |
| Count | 17,629 | 18,277 | 3.7% |
| Per 100K | 5.98 | 6.11 | 2.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Crespo bearers went from 17,629 to 18,277 (+3.7% change). The surname moved up 111 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,042 to #1,931.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Crespo
FAQ
Crespo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Crespo?
Name Census estimates that about 20,959 living Americans carry the surname Crespo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,354 residents.
How common is Crespo?
Crespo ranks #1,931 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.11 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 18,277 people with the surname Crespo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,959), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.11 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.11 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 Crespo.
Has Crespo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Crespo went from 17,629 recorded bearers to 18,277. That is an increase of 648 (+3.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,042 to #1,931.
What does the Census say about the background of Crespo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Crespo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.7%. The next largest groups are White (8.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). 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 Crespo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.7% (16,203 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Crespo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (88.7%), White (8.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). 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 Crespo (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 Crespo mean?
A descriptive surname referring to someone with curly or frizzy hair, derived from the Spanish and Portuguese word "crespo." 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 Crespo (6.11 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 Americans have the surname Crespo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.