2000
#17,755
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,455
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.54
Rare Last name
Disla
Derived from a place name in Spain, likely referring to someone from the town of Isla.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,891 Americans carry the last name Disla. That puts it at #11,875 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 118,559 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Disla 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 118,559
Census rank
#11,875
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,521 bearers of the surname Disla in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 11875th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Disla, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.1%) and Black (1.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Disla
The surname DISLA has its origins in the Dominican Republic, tracing back to the late 15th century when the Caribbean island was colonized by the Spanish Empire. It is believed to derive from the Spanish word "isla," meaning island, potentially indicating that the earliest bearers of the name were islanders or had some connection to an island locale.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the DISLA surname can be found in the historic archives of the Dominican Republic's capital city, Santo Domingo, where a merchant named Juan DISLA is mentioned in a trade document from the year 1512. This suggests that the name was already in use during the early years of Spanish colonial rule in the region.
In the 17th century, the DISLA name appears to have spread to other parts of the Spanish colonial territories in the Americas, with records indicating that a soldier named Pedro DISLA served in the Spanish military campaigns in present-day Mexico during the 1640s.
As the centuries progressed, the DISLA surname continued to be carried by individuals of Spanish descent across the Caribbean and Latin America. Notable bearers of the name include:
1. Miguel DISLA (1777-1845), a Dominican poet and writer known for his contributions to the island's literary canon during the early 19th century.
2. Josefa DISLA (1821-1902), a Cuban-born landowner and philanthropist who donated significant portions of her estate to support educational initiatives in her local community.
3. Enrique DISLA (1864-1935), a Nicaraguan politician and diplomat who served as his country's ambassador to the United States in the early 20th century.
4. María DISLA (1892-1976), a Puerto Rican women's rights activist and one of the pioneers of the island's feminist movement in the mid-20th century.
5. Carlos DISLA (1919-2002), a renowned Dominican artist and painter whose works captured the vibrant landscapes and cultural traditions of his native country.
While the DISLA surname has its deepest roots in the Dominican Republic and the broader Hispanic Caribbean region, it has since spread to various parts of the world through migration and cultural diffusion, becoming a part of the diverse tapestry of global surnames.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Disla
Among Census respondents with the surname Disla, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.1%) and Black (1.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Disla 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 Disla surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.6% · 2,411
- White3.1% · 77
- Black or African American1.0% · 24
- Two or more races0.2% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Disla
Disla 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
#14,558
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,047
+592 bearers (+40.7%)
Per 100,000 0.69
Rank movement Up 3,197 places
2020
#11,875
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,521
+474 bearers (+23.2%)
Per 100,000 0.84
Rank movement Up 2,683 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,755 | 1,455 | 0.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,558 | 2,047 | 0.69 | +592 bearers (+40.7%) | Up 3,197 places |
| 2020 | #11,875 | 2,521 | 0.84 | +474 bearers (+23.2%) | Up 2,683 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 Disla 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 | #14,558 | #11,875 | 18.4% |
| Count | 2,047 | 2,521 | 23.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.69 | 0.84 | 22.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Disla bearers went from 2,047 to 2,521 (+23.2% change). The surname moved up 2,683 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,558 to #11,875.
FAQ
Disla surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Disla?
Name Census estimates that about 2,891 living Americans carry the surname Disla. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 118,559 residents.
How common is Disla?
Disla ranks #11,875 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 2,521 people with the surname Disla. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,891), 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 Disla.
Has Disla become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Disla went from 2,047 recorded bearers to 2,521. That is an increase of 474 (+23.2%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,558 to #11,875.
What does the Census say about the background of Disla?
Among Census respondents with the surname Disla, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.1%) and Black (1.0%). 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 Disla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (2,411 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Disla appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (95.6%), White (3.1%), Black (1.0%). 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 Disla (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 Disla mean?
Derived from a place name in Spain, likely referring to someone from the town of Isla. 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 Disla (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 many people have the last name Disla?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the surname Disla at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.