2000
#993
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 32,015
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.87
Uncommon Last name
Cuevas
A Spanish topographic surname referring to a person who lived near or in a cave or cavern.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 49,496 Americans carry the last name Cuevas. That puts it at #779 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 14.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,925 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cuevas 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
49K
1 in 6,925
Census rank
#779
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
14.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
43K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 43,163 bearers of the surname Cuevas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 14.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 779th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuevas, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.7%. The next largest groups are White (7.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cuevas
The surname Cuevas is of Spanish origin and derives from the Spanish word "cueva," meaning "cave." It first emerged in the medieval period in Spain, likely referring to someone who lived near or in a cave or worked as a miner.
The earliest recorded instances of the name date back to the 13th century. One notable early bearer was Pedro de Cuevas, a Spanish military leader who served under King Ferdinand III of Castile during the Reconquista in the mid-13th century.
In the 15th century, the name appears in records from the region of Andalusia, where many families bearing the name Cuevas resided. One such individual was Juan de Cuevas, a wealthy landowner and merchant who lived in Seville in the late 1400s.
As the Spanish Empire expanded into the Americas in the 16th and 17th centuries, many individuals with the surname Cuevas traveled to and settled in the New World. One notable example is Alonso de Cuevas Davalos, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Guatemala in the 1520s.
In the 18th century, the name was well-established in Mexico, with several prominent families bearing the Cuevas surname. One notable individual was José María Cuevas, a Mexican painter and engraver who lived from 1778 to 1846 and is considered a pioneer of Mexican printmaking.
Another notable bearer of the name was Mariano Cuevas, a Mexican historian and priest who lived from 1879 to 1949 and wrote extensively on the history of the Catholic Church in Mexico.
Over the centuries, the Cuevas surname has also been found in other Spanish-speaking countries and regions, including parts of Central and South America, as well as in the Philippines, where Spanish settlers and missionaries brought the name during the colonial period.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cuevas
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuevas, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.7%. The next largest groups are White (7.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Cuevas 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 Cuevas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.7% · 38,736
- White7.1% · 3,084
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.1% · 885
- Two or more races0.4% · 190
- Black or African American0.4% · 180
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 88
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cuevas
Cuevas 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
#790
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,701
+11,686 bearers (+36.5%)
Per 100,000 14.81
Rank movement Up 203 places
2020
#779
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,163
-538 bearers (-1.2%)
Per 100,000 14.44
Rank movement Up 11 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #993 | 32,015 | 11.87 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #790 | 43,701 | 14.81 | +11,686 bearers (+36.5%) | Up 203 places |
| 2020 | #779 | 43,163 | 14.44 | -538 bearers (-1.2%) | Up 11 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 Cuevas 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 | #790 | #779 | 1.4% |
| Count | 43,701 | 43,163 | -1.2% |
| Per 100K | 14.81 | 14.44 | -2.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cuevas bearers went from 43,701 to 43,163 (-1.2% change). The surname moved up 11 positions in the national ranking, going from #790 to #779.
FAQ
Cuevas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cuevas?
Name Census estimates that about 49,496 living Americans carry the surname Cuevas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,925 residents.
How common is Cuevas?
Cuevas ranks #779 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 14.44 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 43,163 people with the surname Cuevas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (49,496), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 14.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 14.44 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Cuevas.
Has Cuevas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cuevas went from 43,701 recorded bearers to 43,163. That is a decrease of 538 (-1.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #790 to #779.
What does the Census say about the background of Cuevas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuevas, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.7%. The next largest groups are White (7.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%). 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 Cuevas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (38,736 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cuevas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (89.7%), White (7.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.1%). 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 Cuevas (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 Cuevas mean?
A Spanish topographic surname referring to a person who lived near or in a cave or cavern. 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 Cuevas (14.44 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 common is the surname Cuevas?
Want to know how many people are called Cuevas? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.