2000
#997
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,896
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.82
Uncommon Last name
Duarte
A Portuguese and Spanish locational surname referring to someone from any of various places named Duarte.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 49,235 Americans carry the last name Duarte. That puts it at #783 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 14.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,962 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Duarte 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 Duarte with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
49K
1 in 6,962
Census rank
#783
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
14.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
43K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 42,935 bearers of the surname Duarte in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 14.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 783rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Duarte, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 79.8%. The next largest groups are White (15.8%) and Black (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Duarte
The surname Duarte originates from Portugal, dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Portuguese form of the masculine given name Duarte, which itself comes from the Old German name Eduart or Eduard, meaning "rich guard" or "prosperous protector."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Duarte surname is found in the medieval Portuguese royal family. King Duarte I, also known as Edward of Portugal, ruled from 1433 to 1438. He was a skilled poet and writer, renowned for his work "Leal Conselheiro" (The Loyal Counselor), which provided advice on governance and moral conduct.
During the Age of Discovery, the Duarte surname was carried to various parts of the world by Portuguese explorers and settlers. Notable figures include João Duarte, a 16th-century navigator who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his famous voyage around the world, and Diogo Duarte Pacheco, a 15th-century explorer and author of the influential work "Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis" (Emerald of the World's Situation).
In the realm of literature, the Duarte surname is associated with the 16th-century Portuguese poet and playwright, Gil Vicente Duarte. He is considered the founder of Portuguese theater and is renowned for his satirical plays that critiqued society and religious institutions of his time.
Another prominent figure with the Duarte surname is José Napoleón Duarte, the President of El Salvador from 1984 to 1989. He played a crucial role in the Salvadoran Civil War and worked towards establishing democracy in the country.
The Duarte surname can also be traced to the Sephardic Jewish community that settled in Portugal and Spain before the Inquisition. One notable individual was Abraham Duarte, a 17th-century philosopher and scholar who wrote extensively on Jewish mysticism and Kabbalah.
Over the centuries, the Duarte surname has undergone various spelling variations, including Douarte, Doarte, and Duart, reflecting regional linguistic differences within Portugal and other regions where Portuguese settlers established communities.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Duarte
Among Census respondents with the surname Duarte, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 79.8%. The next largest groups are White (15.8%) and Black (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Duarte 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 Duarte surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino79.8% · 34,249
- White15.8% · 6,791
- Black or African American1.8% · 792
- Two or more races1.3% · 570
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 428
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 105
Timeline
Historical Census data for Duarte
Duarte 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
#808
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,983
+11,087 bearers (+34.8%)
Per 100,000 14.57
Rank movement Up 189 places
2020
#783
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,935
-48 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 14.36
Rank movement Up 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #997 | 31,896 | 11.82 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #808 | 42,983 | 14.57 | +11,087 bearers (+34.8%) | Up 189 places |
| 2020 | #783 | 42,935 | 14.36 | -48 bearers (-0.1%) | Up 25 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 Duarte 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 | #808 | #783 | 3.1% |
| Count | 42,983 | 42,935 | -0.1% |
| Per 100K | 14.57 | 14.36 | -1.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Duarte bearers went from 42,983 to 42,935 (-0.1% change). The surname moved up 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #808 to #783.
FAQ
Duarte surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Duarte?
Name Census estimates that about 49,235 living Americans carry the surname Duarte. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,962 residents.
How common is Duarte?
Duarte ranks #783 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 14.36 per 100,000 residents, which is about 14 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 42,935 people with the surname Duarte. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (49,235), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 14.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 14.36 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 14 of them to have the surname Duarte.
Has Duarte become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Duarte went from 42,983 recorded bearers to 42,935. That is a decrease of 48 (-0.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #808 to #783.
What does the Census say about the background of Duarte?
Among Census respondents with the surname Duarte, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 79.8%. The next largest groups are White (15.8%) and Black (1.8%). 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 Duarte in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (34,249 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Duarte appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (79.8%), White (15.8%), Black (1.8%). 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 Duarte (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 Duarte mean?
A Portuguese and Spanish locational surname referring to someone from any of various places named Duarte. 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 Duarte (14.36 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 Duarte?
See how common the surname Duarte is on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.