2000
#1,818
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,121
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.72
Uncommon Last name
Medeiros
A Portuguese occupational surname referring to a surveyor or one who measures land.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,108 Americans carry the last name Medeiros. That puts it at #1,916 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.16 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,238 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Medeiros 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 Medeiros with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,238
Census rank
#1,916
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,407 bearers of the surname Medeiros in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.16 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1916th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Medeiros, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (6.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Medeiros
The surname Medeiros has its origins in Portugal, dating back to the 15th century. It is derived from the Portuguese word "medeiros," which means "strawberry plant" or "strawberry field." This surname likely originated in areas where strawberries were cultivated or grew abundantly.
The earliest known recorded instances of the surname Medeiros can be found in medieval Portuguese documents and records. One notable example is the mention of a certain João Medeiros in a land registry from the year 1467 in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.
During the Age of Discovery, when Portuguese explorers and settlers ventured to various parts of the world, the surname Medeiros spread to other countries and regions, particularly those with Portuguese colonial influence. This includes Brazil, where many Portuguese immigrants settled, and other former Portuguese territories.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Medeiros was Pedro Medeiros, a Portuguese navigator and explorer who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his voyage to India in 1497-1499. Another notable figure was Tomé Medeiros, a 16th-century Portuguese soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of Brazil.
In the 17th century, António Medeiros was a prominent Portuguese architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Church of São Roque in Lisbon. Another individual of note was Manuel Medeiros, a Portuguese clergyman who served as the Bishop of Angra from 1697 to 1704.
During the 18th century, José Medeiros was a celebrated Portuguese painter known for his religious and mythological works, including his masterpiece, "The Adoration of the Magi," completed in 1770.
As the surname spread across different regions and countries, variations in spelling and pronunciation emerged. In Brazil, for instance, the name is sometimes spelled "Madeiros" or "Madeyros," while in parts of Africa influenced by Portuguese colonization, it may be rendered as "Madeiro" or "Madeira."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Medeiros
Among Census respondents with the surname Medeiros, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (6.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Medeiros 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 Medeiros surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.1% · 15,120
- Hispanic or Latino6.6% · 1,216
- Two or more races6.5% · 1,200
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.7% · 687
- Black or African American0.8% · 148
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 36
Timeline
Historical Census data for Medeiros
Medeiros 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
#1,889
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,031
+910 bearers (+5.0%)
Per 100,000 6.45
Rank movement Down 71 places
2020
#1,916
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,407
-624 bearers (-3.3%)
Per 100,000 6.16
Rank movement Down 27 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,818 | 18,121 | 6.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,889 | 19,031 | 6.45 | +910 bearers (+5.0%) | Down 71 places |
| 2020 | #1,916 | 18,407 | 6.16 | -624 bearers (-3.3%) | Down 27 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 Medeiros 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 | #1,889 | #1,916 | -1.4% |
| Count | 19,031 | 18,407 | -3.3% |
| Per 100K | 6.45 | 6.16 | -4.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Medeiros bearers went from 19,031 to 18,407 (-3.3% change). The surname moved down 27 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,889 to #1,916.
FAQ
Medeiros surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Medeiros?
Name Census estimates that about 21,108 living Americans carry the surname Medeiros. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,238 residents.
How common is Medeiros?
Medeiros ranks #1,916 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.16 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,407 people with the surname Medeiros. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,108), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.16 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.16 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Medeiros.
Has Medeiros become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Medeiros went from 19,031 recorded bearers to 18,407. That is a decrease of 624 (-3.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,889 to #1,916.
What does the Census say about the background of Medeiros?
Among Census respondents with the surname Medeiros, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.1%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (6.6%) and Two or More Races (6.5%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Medeiros in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.1% (15,120 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Medeiros appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.1%), Hispanic (6.6%), Two or More Races (6.5%). 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 Medeiros (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 Medeiros mean?
A Portuguese occupational surname referring to a surveyor or one who measures land. 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 Medeiros (6.16 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 Medeiros?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.