2000
#133,114
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Maldona
A habitational surname derived from a place name in Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 124 Americans carry the last name Maldona. That puts it at #150,935 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,764,148 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Maldona 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
124
1 in 2,764,148
Census rank
#150,935
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
108
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 108 bearers of the surname Maldona in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150935th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Maldona, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (8.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Maldona
The surname MALDONA has its origins in Spain and is believed to have emerged in the 14th century. It is thought to be derived from the Spanish word "maldonado," which means "ill-given" or "unfortunate." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who was seen as unlucky or ill-fated.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the MALDONA surname can be found in the archives of the city of Malaga, Spain. In 1375, a document mentions a person named Pedro Maldona, who was involved in a legal dispute over a property transaction. This indicates that the name was already in use by that time in the region of Andalusia.
The MALDONA surname is also linked to the town of Maldona, located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon. It is possible that the name originated from this place name, which itself may have derived from the Latin words "malus" (meaning "bad") and "donum" (meaning "gift" or "grant"). This could suggest that the town or its lands were initially considered unfavorable or undesirable.
In the 16th century, records show a Juan Maldona who was a renowned philosopher and theologian born in Seville, Spain, in 1525. He is known for his work on the reconciliation of Aristotelian philosophy with Christian theology. Another notable figure was Martín Maldona, a Spanish soldier who fought in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century under Hernán Cortés.
During the 17th century, a Franciscan friar named Antonio Maldona was active in the Spanish missions in California. He is known for establishing several missions, including the Mission San Francisco de Asís, the future site of the city of San Francisco.
In the 18th century, a Spanish explorer named Juan Maldona led an expedition to the Pacific Northwest of North America, where he explored and mapped parts of the coast of present-day British Columbia and Alaska.
Another prominent individual with the MALDONA surname was María Maldona, a Spanish writer and poet born in Madrid in 1825. She was known for her feminist writings and advocacy for women's rights and education.
Throughout history, the MALDONA surname has been found in various spellings, such as Maldonado, Maldonada, and Maldonato, reflecting regional variations and linguistic adaptations over time.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Maldona
Among Census respondents with the surname Maldona, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (8.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Maldona 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 Maldona surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.7% · 99
- White8.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Maldona
Maldona 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
#128,249
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 133
+16 bearers (+13.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 4,865 places
2020
#150,935
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
-25 bearers (-18.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 22,686 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #133,114 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #128,249 | 133 | 0.05 | +16 bearers (+13.7%) | Up 4,865 places |
| 2020 | #150,935 | 108 | 0.04 | -25 bearers (-18.8%) | Down 22,686 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 Maldona 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 | #128,249 | #150,935 | -17.7% |
| Count | 133 | 108 | -18.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -27.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Maldona bearers went from 133 to 108 (-18.8% change). The surname moved down 22,686 positions in the national ranking, going from #128,249 to #150,935.
FAQ
Maldona surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Maldona?
Name Census estimates that about 124 living Americans carry the surname Maldona. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,764,148 residents.
How common is Maldona?
Maldona ranks #150,935 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 108 people with the surname Maldona. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (124), 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 Maldona.
Has Maldona become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Maldona went from 133 recorded bearers to 108. That is a decrease of 25 (-18.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #128,249 to #150,935.
What does the Census say about the background of Maldona?
Among Census respondents with the surname Maldona, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (8.3%). 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 Maldona in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (99 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Maldona appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (91.7%), White (8.3%). 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 Maldona (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 Maldona mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name in 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 Maldona (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 surname Maldona?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.