2000
#1,468
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,247
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.25
Uncommon Last name
Hurtado
A Spanish surname derived from the past participle of the verb "hurtar," meaning "to steal" or "to pilfer."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 34,203 Americans carry the last name Hurtado. That puts it at #1,156 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.98 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,021 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Hurtado 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
34K
1 in 10,021
Census rank
#1,156
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
30K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,827 bearers of the surname Hurtado in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.98 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1156th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Hurtado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (5.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Hurtado
The surname Hurtado is of Spanish origin, derived from the past participle of the Spanish verb "hurtar," which means "to steal." It likely originated as a descriptive nickname in medieval Spain, referring to someone who was known for stealing or being a thief.
The name Hurtado can be traced back to the 12th century in various regions of Spain, including Castile, Aragon, and Andalusia. It is believed to have been used as a surname by the end of the 11th century or the beginning of the 12th century.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Hurtado comes from the Liber Feudorum Maior, a 12th-century cartulary from the Kingdom of Aragon. In this document, a person named Petrus Hurtado is mentioned as a witness to a land grant.
The Hurtado surname is also found in the Repartimiento de Sevilla, a document from the 13th century that recorded the distribution of land and property in Seville after the city's reconquest from the Moors in 1248. Several individuals with the surname Hurtado are listed as receiving land or property in this document.
One of the most notable historical figures with the surname Hurtado was Gaspar Hurtado de Mendoza (1535-1609), a Spanish jurist and historian who served as a judge in the Royal Chancery of Granada and wrote extensively on the history of Granada and its conquest by the Catholic Monarchs.
Another notable Hurtado was Juan Hurtado de Mendoza (1530-1592), a Spanish military officer and diplomat who served as the Governor of New Galicia (modern-day western Mexico) and played a significant role in the Spanish colonization of the Americas.
In the field of literature, Tomás Hurtado (1591-1669) was a Spanish playwright and poet during the Golden Age of Spanish literature, known for his works such as "La Cuestiόn de Amor" and "Comedia de la Infanta Constanza."
Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (1503-1575) was a Spanish Renaissance humanist, poet, and diplomat who served as the Ambassador to Venice and Rome. He is best known for his satirical work "El Lazarillo de Tormes," which is considered one of the earliest picaresque novels.
Finally, Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza (1510-1561) was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Nueva Galicia and played a crucial role in the conquest and colonization of western Mexico.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Hurtado
Among Census respondents with the surname Hurtado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (5.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Hurtado 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 Hurtado surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.0% · 27,749
- White5.2% · 1,551
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 168
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 137
- Two or more races0.4% · 118
- Black or African American0.3% · 104
Timeline
Historical Census data for Hurtado
Hurtado 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
#1,160
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,286
+8,039 bearers (+36.1%)
Per 100,000 10.27
Rank movement Up 308 places
2020
#1,156
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,827
-459 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 9.98
Rank movement Up 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,468 | 22,247 | 8.25 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,160 | 30,286 | 10.27 | +8,039 bearers (+36.1%) | Up 308 places |
| 2020 | #1,156 | 29,827 | 9.98 | -459 bearers (-1.5%) | Up 4 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 Hurtado 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 | #1,160 | #1,156 | 0.3% |
| Count | 30,286 | 29,827 | -1.5% |
| Per 100K | 10.27 | 9.98 | -2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Hurtado bearers went from 30,286 to 29,827 (-1.5% change). The surname moved up 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,160 to #1,156.
FAQ
Hurtado surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Hurtado?
Name Census estimates that about 34,203 living Americans carry the surname Hurtado. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,021 residents.
How common is Hurtado?
Hurtado ranks #1,156 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.98 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 29,827 people with the surname Hurtado. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (34,203), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.98 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.98 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Hurtado.
Has Hurtado become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Hurtado went from 30,286 recorded bearers to 29,827. That is a decrease of 459 (-1.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,160 to #1,156.
What does the Census say about the background of Hurtado?
Among Census respondents with the surname Hurtado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (5.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). 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 Hurtado in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (27,749 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Hurtado appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.0%), White (5.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). 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 Hurtado (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 Hurtado mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the past participle of the verb "hurtar," meaning "to steal" or "to pilfer." 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 Hurtado (9.98 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 common is the surname Hurtado?
Want to know how many people have the surname Hurtado? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.