2000
#124,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 128
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Emas
A surname derived from the German word for 'enamel' or 'enameler'.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Emas. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Emas 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
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Emas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Emas, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Emas
The surname EMAS is believed to have its origins in the Basque region of Spain and France, dating back to the 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Basque word "eme," meaning "woman" or "female," suggesting it may have been used as a descriptive name or a nickname for someone associated with women or feminine traits.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name EMAS can be found in the archives of the town of Laguardia, in the province of Álava, Spain, where a certain Pedro Emas is mentioned in a document from 1385. This suggests that the name was already in use in the region by that time.
In the 16th century, a notable individual named Juan Emas was a prominent merchant and landowner in the town of Vitoria-Gasteiz, also in Álava. He is recorded as having acquired several properties and vineyards in the area between 1535 and 1560.
The name EMAS also appears in some historical records from the neighboring region of Navarre, such as in a document from 1612 that mentions a Miguel Emas, a farmer from the village of Olite.
During the 17th century, the surname EMAS spread to other parts of Spain, including Catalonia, where a certain Jaime Emas was a respected physician in the city of Barcelona, born in 1632 and died in 1701.
In the 18th century, the name EMAS made its way to the Americas, with records showing a Pedro Emas who was a soldier in the Spanish colonial army stationed in Havana, Cuba, in the 1760s.
Another notable figure with the surname EMAS was José Emas, a prominent lawyer and politician from Buenos Aires, Argentina, who lived from 1785 to 1857 and played a significant role in the country's independence movement.
While the surname EMAS is not among the most common in Spain or other Spanish-speaking countries today, it has a rich history and can be traced back to its Basque origins, with various notable individuals bearing this name throughout the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Emas
Among Census respondents with the surname Emas, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Emas 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 Emas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White91.7% · 100
- Hispanic or Latino4.6% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Emas
Emas 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
#149,395
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-18 bearers (-14.1%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 25,286 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 810 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #124,109 | 128 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #149,395 | 110 | 0.04 | -18 bearers (-14.1%) | Down 25,286 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Down 810 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 Emas 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 | #149,395 | #150,205 | -0.5% |
| Count | 110 | 109 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Emas bearers went from 110 to 109 (-0.9% change). The surname moved down 810 positions in the national ranking, going from #149,395 to #150,205.
FAQ
Emas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Emas?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Emas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Emas?
Emas ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 109 people with the surname Emas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Emas.
Has Emas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Emas went from 110 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #149,395 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Emas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Emas, the largest self-reported group is White at 91.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Emas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (100 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Emas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (91.7%), Hispanic (4.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.7%). 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 Emas (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 Emas mean?
A surname derived from the German word for 'enamel' or 'enameler'. 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 Emas (0.04 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 surname Emas?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.