2000
#2,365
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,032
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.20
Uncommon Last name
Escalante
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Escalante, meaning "climbing" or "scaling."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 23,723 Americans carry the last name Escalante. That puts it at #1,699 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.92 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,448 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Escalante 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
24K
1 in 14,448
Census rank
#1,699
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 20,688 bearers of the surname Escalante in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.92 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1699th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Escalante, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Escalante
The surname Escalante originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "escala," meaning a ladder or a flight of steps, and likely referred to someone who lived near a set of stairs or a steep incline.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Escalante surname can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a collection of medieval documents from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain, dating back to the 11th century.
The name may have also been influenced by the town of Escalante, located in the Cantabria region of northern Spain. This town was first mentioned in documents from the 12th century, suggesting that the surname could have originated as a place name before becoming a hereditary family name.
During the 15th century, Fernando de Escalante (1422-1492) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquest of the Canary Islands. He was part of the expedition led by Juan de Béthencourt and later became the governor of the island of Gomera.
In the 16th century, Juan de Escalante Alvarado (1516-1596) was a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico and later served as the governor of the province of Nueva Galicia (present-day western Mexico) from 1575 to 1585.
Another notable figure with the Escalante surname was Juan de Escalante Mendoza (1536-1604), a Spanish soldier and administrator who served as the Governor of the Philippines from 1585 to 1592.
In the 19th century, Bernardo Escalante (1836-1892) was a Mexican military officer and politician who served as the Governor of the state of Chihuahua from 1884 to 1888.
The Escalante surname has also been associated with various places and geographical features, such as the Escalante River in Utah, USA, and the Escalante Desert in Chile, both named after Spanish explorers or settlers.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Escalante
Among Census respondents with the surname Escalante, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Escalante 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 Escalante surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.7% · 18,549
- White5.7% · 1,189
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 473
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 243
- Black or African American0.6% · 122
- Two or more races0.5% · 112
Timeline
Historical Census data for Escalante
Escalante 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
#1,736
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,626
+6,594 bearers (+47.0%)
Per 100,000 6.99
Rank movement Up 629 places
2020
#1,699
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 20,688
+62 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 6.92
Rank movement Up 37 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,365 | 14,032 | 5.20 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,736 | 20,626 | 6.99 | +6,594 bearers (+47.0%) | Up 629 places |
| 2020 | #1,699 | 20,688 | 6.92 | +62 bearers (+0.3%) | Up 37 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 Escalante 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 | #1,736 | #1,699 | 2.1% |
| Count | 20,626 | 20,688 | 0.3% |
| Per 100K | 6.99 | 6.92 | -1.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Escalante bearers went from 20,626 to 20,688 (+0.3% change). The surname moved up 37 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,736 to #1,699.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Escalante
FAQ
Escalante surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Escalante?
Name Census estimates that about 23,723 living Americans carry the surname Escalante. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,448 residents.
How common is Escalante?
Escalante ranks #1,699 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.92 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 20,688 people with the surname Escalante. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (23,723), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.92 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.92 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Escalante.
Has Escalante become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Escalante went from 20,626 recorded bearers to 20,688. That is an increase of 62 (+0.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,736 to #1,699.
What does the Census say about the background of Escalante?
Among Census respondents with the surname Escalante, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Escalante in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.7% (18,549 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Escalante appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (89.7%), White (5.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Escalante (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 Escalante mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Escalante, meaning "climbing" or "scaling." 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 Escalante (6.92 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 share the surname Escalante?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.