2000
#12,450
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,287
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.85
Rare Last name
Mascarenas
A habitational surname indicating someone from Mascarenhas, a parish in Mirandela, Portugal, or a variation of Mascarenhas.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,652 Americans carry the last name Mascarenas. That puts it at #12,744 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 129,244 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mascarenas 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
2.7K
1 in 129,244
Census rank
#12,744
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,313 bearers of the surname Mascarenas in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12744th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mascarenas, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 74.5%. The next largest groups are White (20.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mascarenas
The surname Mascarenas originated in Portugal during the 15th century. It is believed to be derived from the Portuguese word "mascara," meaning mask or disguise. The name may have been given to someone who worked as a mask maker or wore a mask for a particular occupation or event.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Mascarenas can be found in the chronicles of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama's voyages to India in the late 15th century. A sailor named Pedro Mascarenas is mentioned as part of da Gama's crew on his historic voyage around the Cape of Good Hope in 1497.
In the 16th century, the Mascarenas surname appeared in various Portuguese colonial records, particularly in regions such as Brazil and the Mascarene Islands in the Indian Ocean, which were named after the Portuguese navigator Pedro Mascarenhas.
Notable individuals with the surname Mascarenas include:
1. Pedro Mascarenhas (1484-1555), a Portuguese explorer and navigator who played a crucial role in the Portuguese exploration of the Indian Ocean and the establishment of trade routes to the East Indies.
2. Braz Mascarenhas (1508-1578), a Portuguese soldier and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Portuguese India from 1570 to 1572.
3. Jerónimo Mascarenhas (1611-1681), a Portuguese Jesuit missionary who evangelized in Japan and was martyred during the persecution of Christians in the country.
4. Manuel Mascarenhas (1633-1703), a Portuguese military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Portuguese Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) from 1689 to 1692.
5. José Mascarenhas Barreto (1763-1833), a Portuguese naval officer and explorer who led expeditions to the interior of Brazil and contributed to the mapping of the Amazon River basin.
The Mascarenas surname has persisted throughout the centuries and can still be found in various parts of the world, particularly in Portugal, Brazil, and other regions with historical Portuguese influence.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mascarenas
Among Census respondents with the surname Mascarenas, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 74.5%. The next largest groups are White (20.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Mascarenas 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 Mascarenas surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino74.5% · 1,724
- White20.0% · 462
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 73
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.3% · 30
- Two or more races1.0% · 23
- Black or African American0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mascarenas
Mascarenas 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
#12,156
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,563
+276 bearers (+12.1%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Up 294 places
2020
#12,744
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,313
-250 bearers (-9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Down 588 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #12,450 | 2,287 | 0.85 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,156 | 2,563 | 0.87 | +276 bearers (+12.1%) | Up 294 places |
| 2020 | #12,744 | 2,313 | 0.77 | -250 bearers (-9.8%) | Down 588 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 Mascarenas 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 | #12,156 | #12,744 | -4.8% |
| Count | 2,563 | 2,313 | -9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.87 | 0.77 | -11.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mascarenas bearers went from 2,563 to 2,313 (-9.8% change). The surname moved down 588 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,156 to #12,744.
FAQ
Mascarenas surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mascarenas?
Name Census estimates that about 2,652 living Americans carry the surname Mascarenas. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 129,244 residents.
How common is Mascarenas?
Mascarenas ranks #12,744 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,313 people with the surname Mascarenas. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,652), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Mascarenas.
Has Mascarenas become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mascarenas went from 2,563 recorded bearers to 2,313. That is a decrease of 250 (-9.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,156 to #12,744.
What does the Census say about the background of Mascarenas?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mascarenas, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 74.5%. The next largest groups are White (20.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.2%). 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 Mascarenas in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.5% (1,724 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mascarenas appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (74.5%), White (20.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.2%). 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 Mascarenas (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 Mascarenas mean?
A habitational surname indicating someone from Mascarenhas, a parish in Mirandela, Portugal, or a variation of Mascarenhas. 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 Mascarenas (0.77 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 share the surname Mascarenas?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.