2000
#1,682
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,513
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.23
Uncommon Last name
Fonseca
A habitational surname referring to someone from any of the numerous places named Fonseca, primarily in Portugal and Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 30,251 Americans carry the last name Fonseca. That puts it at #1,309 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 11,330 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Fonseca 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 Fonseca with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
30K
1 in 11,330
Census rank
#1,309
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
26K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 26,380 bearers of the surname Fonseca in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1309th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Fonseca, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 76.8%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Black (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Fonseca
The surname Fonseca has its origins in Portugal, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Portuguese words "fonte" meaning "spring" or "fountain" and "seca" meaning "dry". The name likely referred to someone who lived near a dry spring or a place where a spring had dried up.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Fonseca can be found in the 13th century. In 1250, a nobleman named João Fernandes da Fonseca was listed as a witness in a legal document in the city of Braga, northern Portugal. This suggests that the surname was already established among the Portuguese nobility by that time.
In the 14th century, the Fonseca family played a prominent role in the Portuguese exploration of the Atlantic Ocean and the colonization of the Azores Islands. In 1439, Gonçalo Velho Cabral, a member of the Fonseca family, was appointed as the first captain-major of the island of Santa Maria in the Azores.
The Fonseca surname also has a strong connection to the Catholic Church. In the 15th century, Pedro da Fonseca (1528-1599) was a renowned Spanish philosopher and theologian who served as the rector of the University of Coimbra in Portugal. He is considered one of the most influential figures in the development of the Jesuit educational system.
Another notable figure was Manuel da Fonseca e Silva (1691-1766), a Portuguese diplomat and architect who designed several important buildings in Lisbon, including the Águas Livres Aqueduct and the Church of São Roque.
In the 19th century, Deodoro da Fonseca (1827-1892) was a Brazilian military officer and politician who served as the first President of Brazil after the country's transition from a monarchy to a republic in 1889.
Beyond Portugal and Brazil, the Fonseca surname also has a presence in other parts of the world. For example, Rubén Fonseca (born 1925) is a Colombian writer and screenwriter known for his works of crime fiction, while Eduardo Fonseca (1958-2022) was a renowned Peruvian chef and restaurateur.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Fonseca
Among Census respondents with the surname Fonseca, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 76.8%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Black (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Fonseca 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 Fonseca surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino76.8% · 20,263
- White18.0% · 4,744
- Black or African American2.7% · 708
- Two or more races1.2% · 320
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 283
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 62
Timeline
Historical Census data for Fonseca
Fonseca 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
#1,363
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,863
+6,350 bearers (+32.5%)
Per 100,000 8.77
Rank movement Up 319 places
2020
#1,309
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 26,380
+517 bearers (+2.0%)
Per 100,000 8.83
Rank movement Up 54 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,682 | 19,513 | 7.23 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,363 | 25,863 | 8.77 | +6,350 bearers (+32.5%) | Up 319 places |
| 2020 | #1,309 | 26,380 | 8.83 | +517 bearers (+2.0%) | Up 54 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 Fonseca 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 | #1,363 | #1,309 | 4.0% |
| Count | 25,863 | 26,380 | 2.0% |
| Per 100K | 8.77 | 8.83 | 0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Fonseca bearers went from 25,863 to 26,380 (+2.0% change). The surname moved up 54 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,363 to #1,309.
FAQ
Fonseca surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Fonseca?
Name Census estimates that about 30,251 living Americans carry the surname Fonseca. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 11,330 residents.
How common is Fonseca?
Fonseca ranks #1,309 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 9 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 26,380 people with the surname Fonseca. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (30,251), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 9 of them to have the surname Fonseca.
Has Fonseca become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Fonseca went from 25,863 recorded bearers to 26,380. That is an increase of 517 (+2.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,363 to #1,309.
What does the Census say about the background of Fonseca?
Among Census respondents with the surname Fonseca, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 76.8%. The next largest groups are White (18.0%) and Black (2.7%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Fonseca in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.8% (20,263 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Fonseca appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (76.8%), White (18.0%), Black (2.7%). 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 Fonseca (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 Fonseca mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone from any of the numerous places named Fonseca, primarily in Portugal and Spain. 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 Fonseca (8.83 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 Fonseca?
You can see how common the surname Fonseca is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.