2000
#10,121
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,930
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.09
Rare Last name
Hoyos
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone living near a pit, hole, or depression in the ground.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,125 Americans carry the last name Hoyos. That puts it at #8,752 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.20 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 83,092 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hoyos 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
4.1K
1 in 83,092
Census rank
#8,752
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,597 bearers of the surname Hoyos in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.20 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8752nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoyos, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.7%. The next largest groups are White (6.4%) and Black (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hoyos
The surname Hoyos has its origins in Spain, where it first emerged in the late medieval period. The name is derived from the Spanish word "hoyo," meaning "hole" or "pit." It likely originated as a topographic name, referring to someone who lived near a hole or pit in the landscape.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hoyos can be found in the medieval Catalan manuscript, the "Llibre del Repartiment," which documented the distribution of land and properties in the Kingdom of Valencia after the Christian conquest in the 13th century. Several individuals with the surname Hoyos are listed as receiving land grants in this record.
The surname Hoyos may also have ties to specific place names in Spain, such as the town of Los Hoyos in the province of Avila. It is possible that the name originated as a locative surname, referring to someone who came from or lived near this place.
In the 16th century, Juan de Hoyos (c. 1520-1570) was a renowned Spanish navigator and cartographer who accompanied the expedition of Álvaro de Mendaña to the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean. His detailed maps and charts of the region were instrumental in the exploration and colonization efforts of the Spanish Empire.
Another notable figure was Pedro de Hoyos (1711-1763), a Spanish military engineer and architect who designed and oversaw the construction of several important fortifications and public works projects in Spain and its colonies during the 18th century.
In the 19th century, Félix María de Hoyos y Vinent (1789-1865) was a prominent Spanish writer, journalist, and politician who served as a member of the Cortes (parliament) and held various government positions during the turbulent years of the Carlist Wars.
Moving into the 20th century, Rafael Hoyos y Gómez (1896-1972) was a Spanish diplomat and writer who served as the Spanish ambassador to several countries, including the United States and the Vatican. He was also a prolific author, known for his novels and essays on literary and cultural topics.
Finally, José María Hoyos Sancho (1906-1991) was a Spanish lawyer and politician who played a significant role in the transition to democracy in Spain after the death of Francisco Franco. He served as the Minister of Justice and later as the President of the Constitutional Court of Spain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hoyos
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoyos, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.7%. The next largest groups are White (6.4%) and Black (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Hoyos 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 Hoyos surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.7% · 3,335
- White6.4% · 230
- Black or African American0.4% · 14
- Two or more races0.3% · 10
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hoyos
Hoyos 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
#8,865
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,694
+764 bearers (+26.1%)
Per 100,000 1.25
Rank movement Up 1,256 places
2020
#8,752
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,597
-97 bearers (-2.6%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Up 113 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,121 | 2,930 | 1.09 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,865 | 3,694 | 1.25 | +764 bearers (+26.1%) | Up 1,256 places |
| 2020 | #8,752 | 3,597 | 1.20 | -97 bearers (-2.6%) | Up 113 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 Hoyos 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 | #8,865 | #8,752 | 1.3% |
| Count | 3,694 | 3,597 | -2.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.25 | 1.20 | -3.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hoyos bearers went from 3,694 to 3,597 (-2.6% change). The surname moved up 113 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,865 to #8,752.
FAQ
Hoyos surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hoyos?
Name Census estimates that about 4,125 living Americans carry the surname Hoyos. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 83,092 residents.
How common is Hoyos?
Hoyos ranks #8,752 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.20 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 3,597 people with the surname Hoyos. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.2 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.20 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 Hoyos.
Has Hoyos become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hoyos went from 3,694 recorded bearers to 3,597. That is a decrease of 97 (-2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,865 to #8,752.
What does the Census say about the background of Hoyos?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hoyos, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.7%. The next largest groups are White (6.4%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Hoyos in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (3,335 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hoyos appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.7%), White (6.4%), Black (0.4%). 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 Hoyos (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 Hoyos mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone living near a pit, hole, or depression in the ground. 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 Hoyos (1.20 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 Hoyos?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.