2000
#5,770
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,498
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.04
Rare Last name
Melchor
A surname of Spanish origin, derived from one of the biblical Magi who visited the infant Jesus.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,080 Americans carry the last name Melchor. That puts it at #4,331 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.65 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,748 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Melchor 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
9.1K
1 in 37,748
Census rank
#4,331
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,918 bearers of the surname Melchor in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.65 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4331st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Melchor, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 85.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Melchor
The surname Melchor has its origins in Spain, where it emerged in the early medieval period around the 7th or 8th century. It is derived from the Spanish form of the Hebrew name Melchior, one of the three biblical Magi or Wise Men who visited the infant Jesus bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The name Melchior itself is a variant of the Hebrew name Malki-Or, meaning "king of light" or "my king is light."
In its earliest known appearances, the surname Melchor was often spelled as Melchior or Melchior, reflecting its Hebrew roots. It is believed that the name was initially adopted by Spanish families who claimed descent from the legendary Wise Man Melchior or who lived in areas associated with his veneration.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Melchor can be found in the 13th-century Libro de las Behetrías, a medieval Spanish manuscript that documented landholdings and taxation records. In this text, a certain Rodrigo Melchor is listed as a landowner in the region of Castile.
Throughout the Middle Ages and Renaissance, the surname Melchor was borne by several notable individuals, including Juan Melchor de Cabrera (c. 1490-1557), a Spanish military commander and colonial administrator who served as the first governor of Costa Rica. Another prominent figure was Fray Juan Melchor de Valledor (1585-1669), a Spanish Franciscan friar and missionary who worked extensively in the Philippines.
In the 17th century, the surname Melchor appears in connection with the town of Melchor de Mencos, located in the present-day Mexican state of Veracruz. This town was likely named after a person bearing the surname Melchor, though the exact origins of the place name are uncertain.
Other notable individuals with the surname Melchor include Joaquín Melchor Fernández de Saavedra y Alvarado (1768-1838), a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the last Spanish governor of Cuba, and José Melchor Gaspar de Jovellanos (1744-1811), a Spanish politician, author, and influential figure of the Enlightenment.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Melchor
Among Census respondents with the surname Melchor, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 85.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Melchor 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 Melchor surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino85.4% · 6,764
- White5.6% · 447
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.5% · 358
- Black or African American2.8% · 225
- Two or more races0.9% · 74
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 50
Timeline
Historical Census data for Melchor
Melchor 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
#4,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,319
+2,821 bearers (+51.3%)
Per 100,000 2.82
Rank movement Up 1,501 places
2020
#4,331
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,918
-401 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 2.65
Rank movement Down 62 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,770 | 5,498 | 2.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,269 | 8,319 | 2.82 | +2,821 bearers (+51.3%) | Up 1,501 places |
| 2020 | #4,331 | 7,918 | 2.65 | -401 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 62 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 Melchor 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 | #4,269 | #4,331 | -1.5% |
| Count | 8,319 | 7,918 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.82 | 2.65 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Melchor bearers went from 8,319 to 7,918 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 62 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,269 to #4,331.
FAQ
Melchor surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Melchor?
Name Census estimates that about 9,080 living Americans carry the surname Melchor. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,748 residents.
How common is Melchor?
Melchor ranks #4,331 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.65 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,918 people with the surname Melchor. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,080), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.65 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.65 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Melchor.
Has Melchor become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Melchor went from 8,319 recorded bearers to 7,918. That is a decrease of 401 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,269 to #4,331.
What does the Census say about the background of Melchor?
Among Census respondents with the surname Melchor, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 85.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Melchor in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.4% (6,764 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Melchor appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (85.4%), White (5.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.5%). 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 Melchor (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 Melchor mean?
A surname of Spanish origin, derived from one of the biblical Magi who visited the infant Jesus. 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 Melchor (2.65 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 Melchor?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.