2000
#1,737
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,892
First available Census row
Per 100,000 7.00
Uncommon Last name
Lujan
A Spanish toponymic surname indicating an individual hailed from the town of Luján in Argentina or Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,311 Americans carry the last name Lujan. That puts it at #1,654 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,099 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Lujan 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
24K
1 in 14,099
Census rank
#1,654
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,200 bearers of the surname Lujan in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1654th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Lujan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.8%. The next largest groups are White (9.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Lujan
The surname Lujan has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Spanish place name "Luján," which is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, located in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha.
The name "Luján" is thought to have its roots in the Latin word "lucanus," meaning "belonging to the woods or forests." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or in a forested area.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Lujan can be found in the Libro de la Montería, a medieval hunting treatise written in the 14th century during the reign of Alfonso XI of Castile. This manuscript mentions the town of Luján and its surrounding lands.
In the 15th century, a notable figure with the surname Lujan was Pedro Núñez de Luján, a Spanish military commander who served under the Catholic Monarchs during the Reconquista. He played a significant role in the conquest of Granada in 1492.
Another prominent individual with this last name was Francisco de Luján, a 16th-century Spanish navigator and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to Mexico. He is credited with being one of the first Europeans to set foot in what is now California.
During the colonial era, the Lujan surname spread to various parts of the Spanish Empire, including the Americas. One notable bearer of the name was Tomás de Luján, a 17th-century Spanish settler who established the town of San Antonio de Padua, which later became the city of San Antonio, Texas.
In the 19th century, a renowned Argentine poet and novelist with the surname Lujan was Benjamín Victorica Luján (1831-1895). He is considered one of the most significant literary figures of the Argentine Romantic movement.
Another notable figure was María Luisa Luján (1872-1961), a Colombian writer and educator who played a significant role in promoting women's rights and education in her country.
As the surname Lujan spread across different regions, various spelling variations emerged, such as Luxán, Luján, and Luhán. Additionally, the name has been associated with several place names, including Luján de Cuyo in Argentina and Luján de Oro in Bolivia.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Lujan
Among Census respondents with the surname Lujan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.8%. The next largest groups are White (9.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Lujan 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 Lujan surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino84.8% · 17,967
- White9.5% · 2,024
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 543
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 379
- Two or more races1.1% · 228
- Black or African American0.3% · 59
Timeline
Historical Census data for Lujan
Lujan 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
#1,637
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,021
+3,129 bearers (+16.6%)
Per 100,000 7.47
Rank movement Up 100 places
2020
#1,654
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,200
-821 bearers (-3.7%)
Per 100,000 7.09
Rank movement Down 17 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,737 | 18,892 | 7.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,637 | 22,021 | 7.47 | +3,129 bearers (+16.6%) | Up 100 places |
| 2020 | #1,654 | 21,200 | 7.09 | -821 bearers (-3.7%) | Down 17 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 Lujan 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 | #1,637 | #1,654 | -1.0% |
| Count | 22,021 | 21,200 | -3.7% |
| Per 100K | 7.47 | 7.09 | -5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Lujan bearers went from 22,021 to 21,200 (-3.7% change). The surname moved down 17 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,637 to #1,654.
FAQ
Lujan surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Lujan?
Name Census estimates that about 24,311 living Americans carry the surname Lujan. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,099 residents.
How common is Lujan?
Lujan ranks #1,654 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.09 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,200 people with the surname Lujan. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,311), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.09 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Lujan.
Has Lujan become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Lujan went from 22,021 recorded bearers to 21,200. That is a decrease of 821 (-3.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,637 to #1,654.
What does the Census say about the background of Lujan?
Among Census respondents with the surname Lujan, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 84.8%. The next largest groups are White (9.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%). 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 Lujan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 84.8% (17,967 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Lujan appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (84.8%), White (9.5%), American Indian/Alaska Native (2.6%). 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 Lujan (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 Lujan mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname indicating an individual hailed from the town of Luján in Argentina or 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 Lujan (7.09 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 surname Lujan?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.