2000
#460
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 65,598
First available Census row
Per 100,000 24.32
Common Last name
Deleon
A Spanish surname meaning "of León," referring to the city or kingdom of León in Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 104,769 Americans carry the last name Deleon. That puts it at #336 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 30.57 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,272 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Deleon 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 Deleon with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
105K
1 in 3,272
Census rank
#336
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
30.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
91K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 91,364 bearers of the surname Deleon in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 30.57 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 336th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Deleon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.9%) and White (6.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Deleon
The surname Deleon originates from Spain and dates back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish city of León, which was an important center during the Christian Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. The name likely referred to someone who hailed from or had some association with this city.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Deleon can be found in the Fuero de León, a legal code issued in 1020 by Alfonso V, King of León, which mentions individuals with this surname. The surname also appears in various medieval Spanish manuscripts and records, such as the Becerro de las Behetrías, a 14th-century census of landowners in the region of León.
The variant spelling "De León" is often seen in historical documents, reflecting the Spanish practice of using the preposition "de" (meaning "from") before place names to indicate one's origin. This spelling can be found in records from as early as the 13th century.
One notable bearer of the Deleon surname was Fray Andrés de León, a 16th-century Spanish missionary and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in 1519. He is credited with introducing Christianity to parts of Central America.
In the 17th century, Juan de León y Arango (1592-1659) was a prominent Spanish soldier and governor of Cuba, while in the following century, Sebastián de León y Dávalos (1639-1708) was a Spanish military engineer and architect who designed several fortifications in Spain and the Americas.
Another famous Deleon was María Isidra de Guzmán y de la Cerda (1768-1803), a Spanish noblewoman who was a leading figure in the defense of Saragossa during the Peninsular War against Napoleonic France.
As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Deleon surname spread to various parts of the Americas, particularly Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America, where it continues to be prevalent today among those of Hispanic descent.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Deleon
Among Census respondents with the surname Deleon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.9%) and White (6.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Deleon 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 Deleon surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino82.0% · 74,959
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.9% · 8,157
- White6.6% · 6,023
- Black or African American1.1% · 1,045
- Two or more races1.0% · 932
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 248
Timeline
Historical Census data for Deleon
Deleon 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
#359
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 87,414
+21,816 bearers (+33.3%)
Per 100,000 29.63
Rank movement Up 101 places
2020
#336
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 91,364
+3,950 bearers (+4.5%)
Per 100,000 30.57
Rank movement Up 23 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #460 | 65,598 | 24.32 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #359 | 87,414 | 29.63 | +21,816 bearers (+33.3%) | Up 101 places |
| 2020 | #336 | 91,364 | 30.57 | +3,950 bearers (+4.5%) | Up 23 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 Deleon 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 | #359 | #336 | 6.4% |
| Count | 87,414 | 91,364 | 4.5% |
| Per 100K | 29.63 | 30.57 | 3.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Deleon bearers went from 87,414 to 91,364 (+4.5% change). The surname moved up 23 positions in the national ranking, going from #359 to #336.
FAQ
Deleon surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Deleon?
Name Census estimates that about 104,769 living Americans carry the surname Deleon. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,272 residents.
How common is Deleon?
Deleon ranks #336 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 30.57 per 100,000 residents, which is about 31 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 91,364 people with the surname Deleon. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (104,769), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 30.57 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 30.57 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 31 of them to have the surname Deleon.
Has Deleon become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Deleon went from 87,414 recorded bearers to 91,364. That is an increase of 3,950 (+4.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #359 to #336.
What does the Census say about the background of Deleon?
Among Census respondents with the surname Deleon, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 82.0%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.9%) and White (6.6%). 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 Deleon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.0% (74,959 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Deleon appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (82.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (8.9%), White (6.6%). 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 Deleon (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 Deleon mean?
A Spanish surname meaning "of León," referring to the city or kingdom of León in Spain. 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 Deleon (30.57 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 are called Deleon?
Find out how many people are called Deleon on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.