2000
#1,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,429
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.83
Uncommon Last name
Machado
A Portuguese and Spanish occupational surname referring to an axe-maker or woodcutter.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 28,268 Americans carry the last name Machado. That puts it at #1,405 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.25 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,125 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Machado 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Machado with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
28K
1 in 12,125
Census rank
#1,405
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
25K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 24,651 bearers of the surname Machado in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.25 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1405th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Machado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 56.3%. The next largest groups are White (38.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Machado
Among Census respondents with the surname Machado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 56.3%. The next largest groups are White (38.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Machado 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 Machado surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino56.3% · 13,880
- White38.4% · 9,468
- Two or more races2.0% · 484
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.8% · 445
- Black or African American1.2% · 290
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 84
Timeline
Historical Census data for Machado
Machado 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
#1,552
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 23,170
+4,741 bearers (+25.7%)
Per 100,000 7.85
Rank movement Up 236 places
2020
#1,405
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,651
+1,481 bearers (+6.4%)
Per 100,000 8.25
Rank movement Up 147 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,788 | 18,429 | 6.83 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,552 | 23,170 | 7.85 | +4,741 bearers (+25.7%) | Up 236 places |
| 2020 | #1,405 | 24,651 | 8.25 | +1,481 bearers (+6.4%) | Up 147 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 Machado 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 | #1,552 | #1,405 | 9.5% |
| Count | 23,170 | 24,651 | 6.4% |
| Per 100K | 7.85 | 8.25 | 5.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Machado bearers went from 23,170 to 24,651 (+6.4% change). The surname moved up 147 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,552 to #1,405.
FAQ
Machado surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Machado?
Name Census estimates that about 28,268 living Americans carry the surname Machado. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,125 residents.
How common is Machado?
Machado ranks #1,405 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.25 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 24,651 people with the surname Machado. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (28,268), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.25 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.25 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Machado.
Has Machado become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Machado went from 23,170 recorded bearers to 24,651. That is an increase of 1,481 (+6.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,552 to #1,405.
What does the Census say about the background of Machado?
Among Census respondents with the surname Machado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 56.3%. The next largest groups are White (38.4%) and Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Machado in the 2020 Census, accounting for 56.3% (13,880 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Machado appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (56.3%), White (38.4%), Two or More Races (2.0%). 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 Machado (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 Machado mean?
A Portuguese and Spanish occupational surname referring to an axe-maker or woodcutter. 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 Machado (8.25 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 are called Machado?
Want to know how many people have the surname Machado? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.