2000
#4,872
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,618
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.45
Rare Last name
Menchaca
A Basque surname referring to someone who lived near a pasture or grazing area for cattle.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 8,988 Americans carry the last name Menchaca. That puts it at #4,376 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 38,135 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Menchaca 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
9.0K
1 in 38,135
Census rank
#4,376
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
7.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,838 bearers of the surname Menchaca in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4376th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Menchaca, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.0%. The next largest groups are White (8.4%) and Two or More Races (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Menchaca
The surname Menchaca has its origins in the Basque region of Spain and France. It is derived from the Basque words "mendia" meaning mountain and "atxa" meaning steep or rugged. The name likely originated as a toponymic surname, referring to a person who lived near or came from a rugged mountainous area.
In the early medieval period, the name appears in various records and manuscripts from the Basque Country. One of the earliest recorded instances is in the Codex de Roda, a 10th-century cartulary from the monastery of Santa María de Roda in Aragon, where the name is spelled "Mendiatxa".
By the 12th century, the surname had evolved to its modern spelling of Menchaca. It is found in various Basque-language documents and land records from this period, indicating that families with this surname were well-established in the region.
One notable early bearer of the Menchaca name was Juan de Menchaca, a 16th-century jurist and legal scholar from the town of Villasana de Mena in Burgos, Spain. He was born in 1499 and is best known for his work "Controversiarum illustrium" (Illustrious Controversies), which dealt with issues of international law.
In the 17th century, the Menchaca surname began to spread beyond the Basque Country, as individuals and families migrated to other parts of Spain and the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Pedro de Menchaca (1592-1666), a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator, served as the Governor of Chile from 1637 to 1639.
Another prominent figure with this surname was Tomás de Menchaca (1623-1688), a Spanish Baroque painter known for his religious works and portraiture. He was born in Seville and spent much of his career working in Madrid and other cities in Spain.
As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Menchaca surname was carried to the Americas, where it took root in various regions. In the 18th century, José Menchaca (1720-1799) was a prominent landowner and rancher in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Texas, contributing to the early development of the region.
In the 19th century, Manuel Menchaca (1801-1882) was a Mexican military officer and politician who played a role in the Mexican-American War and later served as the governor of the state of Chihuahua.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Menchaca
Among Census respondents with the surname Menchaca, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.0%. The next largest groups are White (8.4%) and Two or More Races (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Menchaca 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 Menchaca surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino90.0% · 7,052
- White8.4% · 661
- Two or more races0.4% · 35
- Black or African American0.4% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 29
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 27
Timeline
Historical Census data for Menchaca
Menchaca 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
#4,345
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,169
+1,551 bearers (+23.4%)
Per 100,000 2.77
Rank movement Up 527 places
2020
#4,376
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,838
-331 bearers (-4.1%)
Per 100,000 2.62
Rank movement Down 31 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,872 | 6,618 | 2.45 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,345 | 8,169 | 2.77 | +1,551 bearers (+23.4%) | Up 527 places |
| 2020 | #4,376 | 7,838 | 2.62 | -331 bearers (-4.1%) | Down 31 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 Menchaca 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 | #4,345 | #4,376 | -0.7% |
| Count | 8,169 | 7,838 | -4.1% |
| Per 100K | 2.77 | 2.62 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Menchaca bearers went from 8,169 to 7,838 (-4.1% change). The surname moved down 31 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,345 to #4,376.
FAQ
Menchaca surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Menchaca?
Name Census estimates that about 8,988 living Americans carry the surname Menchaca. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 38,135 residents.
How common is Menchaca?
Menchaca ranks #4,376 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.62 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 7,838 people with the surname Menchaca. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (8,988), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.62 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 Menchaca.
Has Menchaca become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Menchaca went from 8,169 recorded bearers to 7,838. That is a decrease of 331 (-4.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,345 to #4,376.
What does the Census say about the background of Menchaca?
Among Census respondents with the surname Menchaca, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.0%. The next largest groups are White (8.4%) and Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Menchaca in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.0% (7,052 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Menchaca appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (90.0%), White (8.4%), Two or More Races (0.4%). 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 Menchaca (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 Menchaca mean?
A Basque surname referring to someone who lived near a pasture or grazing area for cattle. 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 Menchaca (2.62 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 Menchaca?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.