Find out how popular the last name Machado is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Machado.

Machado, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Machado surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Machado in America

Machado is the 1552nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Machado surname appeared 23,170 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Machado.

We can also compare 2010 data for Machado to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Machado

The surname Machado is of Portuguese origin, deriving from the word "machado," which means "axe" or "hatchet" in Portuguese. The name likely originated in the medieval period, when it was a descriptive name given to a woodcutter or someone who wielded an axe as part of their profession.

The earliest recorded instances of the Machado surname can be traced back to the 13th century in Portugal, where it was commonly found in regions like Alentejo, Algarve, and parts of central Portugal. The name was particularly prevalent in areas with abundant forestry or lumbering activities.

In the 15th century, the Machado name appeared in historical records, such as the "Livro de Linhagens" (Book of Lineages), a Portuguese genealogical work compiled during the reign of King Afonso V. This book documented noble families and their coats of arms, indicating that some Machado families had achieved a certain level of prominence by that time.

One of the earliest notable figures with the Machado surname was Diogo Machado, a Portuguese explorer and navigator born around 1470. He participated in various expeditions to the Indian Ocean and mapped parts of the coast of Africa and India.

In the 16th century, António Machado de Azevedo (c. 1500-1570) was a prominent Portuguese humanist and scholar who served as a tutor to members of the royal family and wrote several works on history and philosophy.

During the 17th century, Gaspar Machado (1624-1700) was a renowned Portuguese Jesuit missionary and writer who spent many years in Japan and wrote extensively about the country's culture and history.

In the literary realm, António de Machado Saldanha (1784-1846) was a notable Portuguese poet and playwright who contributed significantly to the development of Romantic literature in Portugal.

Another notable figure was Manuel Machado (1874-1947), a Spanish poet, playwright, and member of the Generation of '98 literary movement, known for his contributions to modernist poetry in Spain.

The Machado surname has since spread across the globe, particularly to countries with historical ties to Portugal, such as Brazil, where it remains a common surname today.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Machado

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Machado.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Machado was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Machado has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Machado was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Machado, please contact us.

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