2000
#1,091
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,386
First available Census row
Per 100,000 10.89
Uncommon Last name
Medrano
A habitational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Medrano in Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 45,675 Americans carry the last name Medrano. That puts it at #849 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 13.33 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,504 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Medrano 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
46K
1 in 7,504
Census rank
#849
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
13.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
40K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 39,831 bearers of the surname Medrano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 13.33 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 849th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Medrano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.3%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Medrano
The surname Medrano is of Spanish origin and can be traced back to the medieval period. It is believed to have originated from the Spanish word "medrano," which means "of the raspberry bush" or "of the bramble." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to someone who lived near or was associated with a place where raspberry bushes or brambles grew abundantly.
The name Medrano is thought to have originated in the region of Castile, which was a prominent kingdom in medieval Spain. The earliest known records of the name date back to the 13th century, where it appears in various legal documents and manuscripts from that time.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Medrano surname can be found in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, a collection of poems and songs composed in the 13th century by King Alfonso X of Castile and León. The name is also mentioned in the Libro del Repartimiento, a document from the 13th century that recorded the distribution of land and property after the Christian conquest of the city of Seville.
During the 15th century, the Medrano family played a significant role in the Reconquista, the centuries-long campaign by Christian kingdoms to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish rule. Alonso Medrano (born c. 1425) was a notable military commander who fought alongside King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile during this period.
In the 16th century, Diego Medrano (1504-1578) was a Spanish historian and author who wrote about the history of the Catholic Church in Spain. His work, "Historia de la Orden de Santiago," is considered an important source for understanding the religious and political dynamics of that era.
Another notable figure with the Medrano surname was Juan Medrano (1570-1633), a Spanish poet and playwright who contributed to the Golden Age of Spanish literature. His plays, such as "La Cortesía de España" and "La Gran Comedia de Doña María la Brava," were popular in their time and are still studied by scholars today.
In the 18th century, Manuel Medrano (1726-1801) was a renowned Spanish architect who designed several important buildings in Madrid, including the Palacio de Liria and the Church of San Marcos.
Throughout history, the Medrano surname has also been associated with various places and regions in Spain, such as the town of Medrano in the province of Navarra and the Medrano River in the province of Soria.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Medrano
Among Census respondents with the surname Medrano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.3%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Medrano 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 Medrano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.3% · 36,778
- White4.6% · 1,831
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 811
- Two or more races0.5% · 181
- Black or African American0.4% · 150
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 80
Timeline
Historical Census data for Medrano
Medrano 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
#858
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 40,261
+10,875 bearers (+37.0%)
Per 100,000 13.65
Rank movement Up 233 places
2020
#849
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 39,831
-430 bearers (-1.1%)
Per 100,000 13.33
Rank movement Up 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,091 | 29,386 | 10.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #858 | 40,261 | 13.65 | +10,875 bearers (+37.0%) | Up 233 places |
| 2020 | #849 | 39,831 | 13.33 | -430 bearers (-1.1%) | Up 9 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 Medrano 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 | #858 | #849 | 1.0% |
| Count | 40,261 | 39,831 | -1.1% |
| Per 100K | 13.65 | 13.33 | -2.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Medrano bearers went from 40,261 to 39,831 (-1.1% change). The surname moved up 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #858 to #849.
FAQ
Medrano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Medrano?
Name Census estimates that about 45,675 living Americans carry the surname Medrano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,504 residents.
How common is Medrano?
Medrano ranks #849 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 13.33 per 100,000 residents, which is about 13 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 39,831 people with the surname Medrano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (45,675), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 13.33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 13.33 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 13 of them to have the surname Medrano.
Has Medrano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Medrano went from 40,261 recorded bearers to 39,831. That is a decrease of 430 (-1.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #858 to #849.
What does the Census say about the background of Medrano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Medrano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.3%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Medrano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.3% (36,778 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Medrano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.3%), White (4.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Medrano (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 Medrano mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Medrano 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 Medrano (13.33 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 Medrano?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.