2000
#11,876
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,414
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.89
Rare Last name
Desoto
A toponymic surname referring to someone from the town of Soto in Segovia, Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,852 Americans carry the last name Desoto. That puts it at #11,996 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 120,180 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Desoto 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 120,180
Census rank
#11,996
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,487 bearers of the surname Desoto in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11996th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Desoto, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 49.7%. The next largest groups are White (40.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Desoto
The surname DeSoto originates from Spain, where it first appeared in the early 16th century. It is derived from the Spanish phrase "de Soto," which translates to "from the grove" or "from the forest." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near or worked in a wooded area.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with this surname was Hernando de Soto, a Spanish explorer and conquistador born around 1496. He is best known for his expeditions in the Americas, particularly his exploration of what is now the southeastern United States between 1539 and 1542, during which he was the first European to cross the Mississippi River.
Another notable figure with the DeSoto name was Fernando de Soto, a Spanish painter who lived from 1598 to 1680. He is considered one of the leading figures of the Spanish Golden Age of painting and is renowned for his religious and historical works.
In the 18th century, Don Diego de Soto y Enríquez was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Cuba from 1767 to 1770.
Moving to the 19th century, Manuel de Soto was a Venezuelan lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Venezuela in the 1840s.
Lastly, José de Soto was a Mexican-American artist and painter born in 1904. He is known for his works depicting scenes of daily life in Mexico and for his contributions to the Mexican Muralist movement of the 1920s and 1930s.
While the DeSoto name has its roots in Spain, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly Latin American countries, due to Spanish colonization and migration. However, its origins can be traced back to the early 16th century in Spain, where it was likely first used to describe someone who lived or worked near a forested area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Desoto
Among Census respondents with the surname Desoto, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 49.7%. The next largest groups are White (40.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Desoto 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 Desoto surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino49.7% · 1,236
- White40.9% · 1,016
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.5% · 87
- Two or more races3.5% · 87
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 38
- Black or African American0.9% · 23
Timeline
Historical Census data for Desoto
Desoto 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
#11,946
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,617
+203 bearers (+8.4%)
Per 100,000 0.89
Rank movement Down 70 places
2020
#11,996
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,487
-130 bearers (-5.0%)
Per 100,000 0.83
Rank movement Down 50 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,876 | 2,414 | 0.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #11,946 | 2,617 | 0.89 | +203 bearers (+8.4%) | Down 70 places |
| 2020 | #11,996 | 2,487 | 0.83 | -130 bearers (-5.0%) | Down 50 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 Desoto 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 | #11,946 | #11,996 | -0.4% |
| Count | 2,617 | 2,487 | -5.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.89 | 0.83 | -6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Desoto bearers went from 2,617 to 2,487 (-5.0% change). The surname moved down 50 positions in the national ranking, going from #11,946 to #11,996.
FAQ
Desoto surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Desoto?
Name Census estimates that about 2,852 living Americans carry the surname Desoto. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 120,180 residents.
How common is Desoto?
Desoto ranks #11,996 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.83 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 2,487 people with the surname Desoto. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,852), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.83 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 Desoto.
Has Desoto become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Desoto went from 2,617 recorded bearers to 2,487. That is a decrease of 130 (-5.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #11,946 to #11,996.
What does the Census say about the background of Desoto?
Among Census respondents with the surname Desoto, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 49.7%. The next largest groups are White (40.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%). 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 Desoto in the 2020 Census, accounting for 49.7% (1,236 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Desoto appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (49.7%), White (40.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.5%). 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 Desoto (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 Desoto mean?
A toponymic surname referring to someone from the town of Soto in Segovia, 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 Desoto (0.83 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 Desoto?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.