2000
#11,484
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,515
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.93
Rare Last name
Escudero
A Spanish occupational surname referring to a shield-bearer or squire who attended to a knight.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,885 Americans carry the last name Escudero. That puts it at #9,232 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 88,225 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Escudero 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
3.9K
1 in 88,225
Census rank
#9,232
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,388 bearers of the surname Escudero in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 9232nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Escudero, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 83.7%. The next largest groups are White (9.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Escudero
The surname Escudero originated in Spain and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "escudero," which means "squire" or "shield bearer." This was a title given to young men who served as attendants to knights and carried their shields during battles.
The name first appeared in the medieval records of the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile. It is believed that some of the earliest bearers of this surname were members of noble families who had squires in their service. The name may have been adopted as a hereditary surname by these squires or their descendants.
One of the earliest known references to the name Escudero can be found in the Fuero de Teruel, a legal code written in the 13th century for the city of Teruel in the region of Aragon. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Escudero, indicating that it was already established as a family name by that time.
In the 14th century, the name Escudero appeared in the Libro de la Montería, a hunting treatise commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile. This book lists various landowners and their properties, including several individuals with the surname Escudero who owned estates in different parts of Spain.
One notable person with the surname Escudero was Pedro Escudero, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquest of the Canary Islands in the 15th century. Born around 1440, he was one of the first Europeans to settle on the island of La Palma.
Another famous Escudero was Juan Bautista Escudero, a Spanish painter who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was renowned for his religious paintings and worked on commissions for churches and monasteries in Madrid and other parts of Spain.
In the 18th century, José Escudero was a Spanish military officer who served in the Bourbon armies during the War of the Spanish Succession. He fought in several battles against the forces of the Archduke Charles, including the Battle of Almansa in 1707.
The surname Escudero has also been associated with notable figures in more recent history, such as Jesús Escudero Aranda, a Spanish composer and musician born in 1912, and Enrique Escudero Pita, a Spanish politician and diplomat who served as the ambassador to the United Nations in the 1970s.
Over time, the surname Escudero has spread beyond Spain and can now be found in various parts of the world, particularly in regions with significant Spanish or Hispanic populations, such as Latin America and the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Escudero
Among Census respondents with the surname Escudero, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 83.7%. The next largest groups are White (9.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Escudero 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 Escudero surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino83.7% · 2,837
- White9.0% · 306
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.4% · 183
- Black or African American0.9% · 29
- Two or more races0.8% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Escudero
Escudero 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
#9,684
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,352
+837 bearers (+33.3%)
Per 100,000 1.14
Rank movement Up 1,800 places
2020
#9,232
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,388
+36 bearers (+1.1%)
Per 100,000 1.13
Rank movement Up 452 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,484 | 2,515 | 0.93 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,684 | 3,352 | 1.14 | +837 bearers (+33.3%) | Up 1,800 places |
| 2020 | #9,232 | 3,388 | 1.13 | +36 bearers (+1.1%) | Up 452 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 Escudero 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 | #9,684 | #9,232 | 4.7% |
| Count | 3,352 | 3,388 | 1.1% |
| Per 100K | 1.14 | 1.13 | -0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Escudero bearers went from 3,352 to 3,388 (+1.1% change). The surname moved up 452 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,684 to #9,232.
FAQ
Escudero surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Escudero?
Name Census estimates that about 3,885 living Americans carry the surname Escudero. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 88,225 residents.
How common is Escudero?
Escudero ranks #9,232 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.13 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 3,388 people with the surname Escudero. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,885), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.13 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 Escudero.
Has Escudero become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Escudero went from 3,352 recorded bearers to 3,388. That is an increase of 36 (+1.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,684 to #9,232.
What does the Census say about the background of Escudero?
Among Census respondents with the surname Escudero, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 83.7%. The next largest groups are White (9.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.4%). 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 Escudero in the 2020 Census, accounting for 83.7% (2,837 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Escudero appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (83.7%), White (9.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.4%). 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 Escudero (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 Escudero mean?
A Spanish occupational surname referring to a shield-bearer or squire who attended to a knight. 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 Escudero (1.13 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 Escudero?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.