2000
#15,455
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,740
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.65
Rare Last name
Delara
A Spanish surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to the French city of Arles.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,894 Americans carry the last name Delara. That puts it at #11,856 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,436 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Delara 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
2.9K
1 in 118,436
Census rank
#11,856
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,524 bearers of the surname Delara in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11856th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Delara, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (21.8%) and White (9.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Delara
The surname DELARA is believed to have originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Spanish word "delara," which means "from the lara," referring to a specific region or town named Lara. This area is located in the northern part of Spain, in the province of Burgos.
One of the earliest known references to the DELARA surname can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías, a medieval manuscript compiled in the 14th century. This document was a census of sorts, documenting the names and locations of landowners and their properties across various regions of Castile.
During the 15th century, the DELARA surname appeared in several historical records, including the Archivo de la Real Chancillería de Valladolid, which contained legal documents and proceedings from that time. One notable individual with this surname was Juan de Lara, a nobleman and military leader who served under King Ferdinand II of Aragon in the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the DELARA name was also associated with the town of Laredo, located in the present-day autonomous community of Cantabria. Historical documents from this period sometimes refer to individuals as "de Laredo" or "DELARA," suggesting a connection between the surname and the town's name.
Over the centuries, several notable individuals have carried the DELARA surname. One example is Pedro Delara, a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. Another is Martín Delara, a 16th-century Spanish painter known for his religious artwork and contributions to the Mannerist style.
In the 18th century, Juan Antonio Delara y Palomino was a prominent Spanish painter and art theorist. He was born in 1655 and is best known for his treatise on painting techniques and his biographies of Spanish artists.
Throughout history, variations and alternative spellings of the DELARA surname have been documented, including De Lara, Delara, Dela, and Lara. These variations often reflected regional linguistic differences or changes in spelling conventions over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Delara
Among Census respondents with the surname Delara, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (21.8%) and White (9.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Delara 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 Delara surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino66.4% · 1,676
- Asian and Pacific Islander21.8% · 550
- White9.3% · 234
- Two or more races1.9% · 47
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Delara
Delara 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
#13,101
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,340
+600 bearers (+34.5%)
Per 100,000 0.79
Rank movement Up 2,354 places
2020
#11,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,524
+184 bearers (+7.9%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 1,245 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,455 | 1,740 | 0.65 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,101 | 2,340 | 0.79 | +600 bearers (+34.5%) | Up 2,354 places |
| 2020 | #11,856 | 2,524 | 0.84 | +184 bearers (+7.9%) | Up 1,245 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 Delara 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 | #13,101 | #11,856 | 9.5% |
| Count | 2,340 | 2,524 | 7.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.79 | 0.84 | 6.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Delara bearers went from 2,340 to 2,524 (+7.9% change). The surname moved up 1,245 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,101 to #11,856.
FAQ
Delara surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Delara?
Name Census estimates that about 2,894 living Americans carry the surname Delara. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,436 residents.
How common is Delara?
Delara ranks #11,856 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.84 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 2,524 people with the surname Delara. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,894), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.84 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 Delara.
Has Delara become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Delara went from 2,340 recorded bearers to 2,524. That is an increase of 184 (+7.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,101 to #11,856.
What does the Census say about the background of Delara?
Among Census respondents with the surname Delara, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (21.8%) and White (9.3%). 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 Delara in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.4% (1,676 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Delara appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (66.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (21.8%), White (9.3%). 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 Delara (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 Delara mean?
A Spanish surname derived from a place name, possibly referring to the French city of Arles. 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 Delara (0.84 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 Delara?
Find out how many people are called Delara on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.