2000
#19,411
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,290
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.48
Rare Last name
Cuello
A surname originating from Spanish meaning "neck" or "collar."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,727 Americans carry the last name Cuello. That puts it at #12,459 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.80 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 125,689 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cuello 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
2.7K
1 in 125,689
Census rank
#12,459
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,378 bearers of the surname Cuello in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.80 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12459th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuello, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.2%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cuello
The surname Cuello has its origins in Spain, originating in the 16th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "cuello," which means "neck" or "collar." This suggests that the name may have been a descriptive nickname given to someone who had a distinctive neck or collar, or perhaps worked in a profession related to necks or collars.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Cuello can be found in the 1591 census records of Seville, Spain, where a family bearing this name was listed as residents. The name also appears in various Spanish archival documents from the 16th and 17th centuries, indicating its widespread use across the Iberian Peninsula during that period.
The Cuello surname has been carried by several notable individuals throughout history. One of the earliest was Pedro Cuello, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés during the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. Another notable figure was Juan Cuello, a 17th-century Spanish painter known for his religious works, many of which can still be found in churches across Spain.
In the 19th century, Manuel Cuello y Pavón (1822-1892) was a prominent Spanish politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Spanish Cortes Generales (parliament) and played a significant role in the drafting of the Spanish Constitution of 1869.
Another notable bearer of the Cuello surname was Enrique Cuello Calón (1899-1963), a renowned Spanish jurist and legal scholar who made significant contributions to the study of criminal law and penology in Spain.
Outside of Spain, the Cuello name has also been carried by individuals of note, such as Alfredo Cuello (1912-2008), a Cuban-American artist and sculptor known for his abstract works, which can be found in various museums and public spaces across the United States.
The surname Cuello continues to be prevalent in Spain and Latin American countries with strong Spanish cultural influences, though its origins can be traced back to the 16th-century Spanish peninsula.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cuello
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuello, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.2%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Cuello 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 Cuello surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino90.2% · 2,146
- White4.7% · 111
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.3% · 79
- Black or African American1.0% · 24
- Two or more races0.5% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cuello
Cuello 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
#16,984
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,673
+383 bearers (+29.7%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Up 2,427 places
2020
#12,459
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,378
+705 bearers (+42.1%)
Per 100,000 0.80
Rank movement Up 4,525 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #19,411 | 1,290 | 0.48 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,984 | 1,673 | 0.57 | +383 bearers (+29.7%) | Up 2,427 places |
| 2020 | #12,459 | 2,378 | 0.80 | +705 bearers (+42.1%) | Up 4,525 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 Cuello 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 | #16,984 | #12,459 | 26.6% |
| Count | 1,673 | 2,378 | 42.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.57 | 0.80 | 39.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cuello bearers went from 1,673 to 2,378 (+42.1% change). The surname moved up 4,525 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,984 to #12,459.
FAQ
Cuello surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cuello?
Name Census estimates that about 2,727 living Americans carry the surname Cuello. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 125,689 residents.
How common is Cuello?
Cuello ranks #12,459 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.80 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 2,378 people with the surname Cuello. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,727), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.8 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.80 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 Cuello.
Has Cuello become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cuello went from 1,673 recorded bearers to 2,378. That is an increase of 705 (+42.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,984 to #12,459.
What does the Census say about the background of Cuello?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuello, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.2%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Cuello in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (2,146 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cuello appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (90.2%), White (4.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.3%). 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 Cuello (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 Cuello mean?
A surname originating from Spanish meaning "neck" or "collar." 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 Cuello (0.80 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 Cuello?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.