2010
#145,220
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Joglar
A surname derived from an archaic term for a jester or entertainer.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Joglar. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Joglar 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Joglar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Joglar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.8%. The next largest groups are White (8.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Joglar
The surname Joglar originated in the Iberian Peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal) during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the old Occitan word "joglar," which means "jester" or "entertainer." The word itself is believed to have roots in the Latin word "joculator."
In the 12th and 13th centuries, joglars were traveling entertainers who performed music, poetry, and acrobatics for nobility and the general public. They were influential in spreading courtly culture and literary works throughout medieval Europe. The surname Joglar likely emerged as a way to identify families or individuals involved in this profession.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Joglar can be found in the "Libro de Repartimiento" (Book of Distribution), a document from the late 13th century that recorded land distribution in the Kingdom of Valencia after the Reconquista. This suggests that the name was present in the Iberian Peninsula during this time period.
In the 14th century, a famous trobadour (poet-musician) named Jaume Joglar was active in the court of King Pere III of Aragon. His works, including love poems and satires, were widely circulated and helped establish the Joglar name among the troubadour tradition.
Another notable figure with the Joglar surname was Ferran Joglar, a 15th-century Catalan scholar and translator who studied at the University of Barcelona. He is known for his translations of classical Greek and Latin texts into Catalan.
During the 16th century, the Joglar family had a presence in the town of Oliva, near Valencia. Records from this time period mention Francesc Joglar (1512-1589), a local landowner and merchant.
In the 17th century, a Joglar family from the town of Gandia produced several notable members, including Joan Baptista Joglar (1623-1678), a priest and theologian who authored several religious texts.
Over time, the surname Joglar spread beyond the Iberian Peninsula, likely due to migration and the influence of the Spanish and Portuguese empires. However, its origins can be traced back to the medieval joglars who played a significant role in the cultural and literary traditions of the region.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Joglar
Among Census respondents with the surname Joglar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.8%. The next largest groups are White (8.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Joglar 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 Joglar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.8% · 101
- White8.2% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Joglar
Joglar appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
-4 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 4,226 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #145,220 | 114 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | -4 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 4,226 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 Joglar 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 | #145,220 | #149,446 | -2.9% |
| Count | 114 | 110 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Joglar bearers went from 114 to 110 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 4,226 positions in the national ranking, going from #145,220 to #149,446.
FAQ
Joglar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Joglar?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Joglar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Joglar?
Joglar ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Joglar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Joglar.
Has Joglar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Joglar went from 114 recorded bearers to 110. That is a decrease of 4 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #145,220 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Joglar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Joglar, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.8%. The next largest groups are White (8.2%). 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 Joglar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.8% (101 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Joglar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (91.8%), White (8.2%). 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 Joglar (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 Joglar mean?
A surname derived from an archaic term for a jester or entertainer. 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 Joglar (0.04 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 have the last name Joglar?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the last name Joglar at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.