2000
#132,259
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Cuilla
A Spanish and Catalan surname derived from the Latin word "culleus" meaning a leather vessel or wine sack.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 132 Americans carry the last name Cuilla. That puts it at #145,757 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,596,624 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Cuilla 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
132
1 in 2,596,624
Census rank
#145,757
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
115
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 115 bearers of the surname Cuilla in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 145757th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuilla, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Cuilla
The surname Cuilla has its origins tracing back to medieval Spain during the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Old Spanish word "cuilla", which referred to a small hill or mound. This name likely originated in the northern regions of Spain, where such geographic features were common in the rugged terrain.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Cuilla can be found in the archives of the Kingdom of Aragon, where a certain Pedro de Cuilla was listed as a landowner in the village of Barbastro in the year 1218. This suggests that the surname was already well-established within this region by the early 13th century.
During the 14th century, the name Cuilla began to appear in various records across different parts of Spain, indicating the gradual spread of the surname beyond its initial northern origins. For instance, in 1341, a Juan Cuilla was mentioned in a document from the city of Seville, located in the southern region of Andalusia.
As the centuries progressed, the Cuilla name continued to be carried by individuals of note. One such figure was the renowned poet and playwright, Miguel de Cuilla, who lived in the late 16th century and was celebrated for his contributions to the Spanish Golden Age of literature. Another notable bearer of the surname was Diego Cuilla, a skilled navigator and explorer who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his historic circumnavigation of the globe in the early 1500s.
The name Cuilla also found its way into the New World, as Spanish colonists and settlers brought the surname with them to the Americas. In 1634, a Pedro Cuilla was recorded as one of the early residents of the city of Havana, Cuba, where he established himself as a successful merchant.
Other prominent individuals bearing the Cuilla surname include Juana Cuilla, a respected 17th-century painter from Seville known for her religious works, and Tomás Cuilla, a celebrated architect from Barcelona who designed several iconic buildings in the city during the late 18th century.
While the surname Cuilla has undergone various spelling variations over the centuries, such as Cuylla, Cuila, and Culla, its origins can be traced back to the medieval Spanish landscape, where it first took root as a descriptor of the geographical features that shaped the region's rugged terrain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Cuilla
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuilla, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Cuilla 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 Cuilla surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White87.8% · 101
- Hispanic or Latino4.3% · 5
- Two or more races4.3% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Cuilla
Cuilla 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
#147,253
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
-6 bearers (-5.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 14,994 places
2020
#145,757
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 115
+3 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 1,496 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #132,259 | 118 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #147,253 | 112 | 0.04 | -6 bearers (-5.1%) | Down 14,994 places |
| 2020 | #145,757 | 115 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.7%) | Up 1,496 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 Cuilla 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 | #147,253 | #145,757 | 1.0% |
| Count | 112 | 115 | 2.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Cuilla bearers went from 112 to 115 (+2.7% change). The surname moved up 1,496 positions in the national ranking, going from #147,253 to #145,757.
FAQ
Cuilla surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Cuilla?
Name Census estimates that about 132 living Americans carry the surname Cuilla. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,596,624 residents.
How common is Cuilla?
Cuilla ranks #145,757 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 115 people with the surname Cuilla. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (132), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Cuilla.
Has Cuilla become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Cuilla went from 112 recorded bearers to 115. That is an increase of 3 (+2.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #147,253 to #145,757.
What does the Census say about the background of Cuilla?
Among Census respondents with the surname Cuilla, the largest self-reported group is White at 87.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.3%) and Two or More Races (4.3%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Cuilla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.8% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Cuilla appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (87.8%), Hispanic (4.3%), Two or More Races (4.3%). 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 Cuilla (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 Cuilla mean?
A Spanish and Catalan surname derived from the Latin word "culleus" meaning a leather vessel or wine sack. 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 Cuilla (0.04 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 Cuilla?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.