2000
#9,450
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,157
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.17
Rare Last name
Mendonca
A Portuguese toponymic surname indicating someone from Mendonça, a parish in northern Portugal.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,165 Americans carry the last name Mendonca. That puts it at #8,670 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 82,294 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Mendonca 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 Mendonca with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
4.2K
1 in 82,294
Census rank
#8,670
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,632 bearers of the surname Mendonca in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8670th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Mendonca, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.3%) and Hispanic (7.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Mendonca
The surname Mendonca originated in Portugal during the medieval period. It is derived from the place name Mendonca, a town located in the Viseu District of northern Portugal. The name is believed to have roots in the Latinized name Mundonica, which itself may come from the Latin words "mundus" meaning "world" and "nova" meaning "new".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Mendonca surname can be found in the Livro Velho de Linhagens, a Portuguese genealogical manuscript from the 13th century. This document mentions individuals with the Mendonca surname serving as knights and landowners during that time. The surname also appears in various charters and property records from the 13th to 15th centuries in the Viseu and Beira regions of Portugal.
During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, many Portuguese explorers and navigators bearing the Mendonca surname played significant roles in the expansion of the Portuguese Empire. Afonso de Mendonca (1453-1502) was a notable navigator who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his voyage to India in 1498. João de Mendonca (1485-1536) was a military commander who served in the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510.
In the 17th century, the Mendonca family established itself in Brazil, where it became one of the prominent noble families. António de Mendonca Furtado (1670-1730) was a notable colonial administrator who served as the Governor of the Captaincy of Pernambuco in Brazil from 1690 to 1691. His nephew, Francisco Xavier de Mendonça Furtado (1701-1769), was a prominent statesman and diplomat who served as the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs and War under King Joseph I of Portugal.
Another notable figure with the Mendonca surname was Henrique Lopes de Mendonça (1856-1931), a Portuguese writer, journalist, and diplomat who served as the Ambassador of Portugal to the United States from 1914 to 1920. His works, including the novel "A Ilustre Casa de Ramires," are considered classics of Portuguese literature.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Mendonca
Among Census respondents with the surname Mendonca, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.3%) and Hispanic (7.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Mendonca 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 Mendonca surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.9% · 2,720
- Asian and Pacific Islander8.3% · 302
- Hispanic or Latino7.4% · 269
- Two or more races4.8% · 175
- Black or African American4.3% · 157
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Mendonca
Mendonca 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
#8,959
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,654
+497 bearers (+15.7%)
Per 100,000 1.24
Rank movement Up 491 places
2020
#8,670
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,632
-22 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 1.22
Rank movement Up 289 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,450 | 3,157 | 1.17 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,959 | 3,654 | 1.24 | +497 bearers (+15.7%) | Up 491 places |
| 2020 | #8,670 | 3,632 | 1.22 | -22 bearers (-0.6%) | Up 289 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 Mendonca 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 | #8,959 | #8,670 | 3.2% |
| Count | 3,654 | 3,632 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 1.24 | 1.22 | -2.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Mendonca bearers went from 3,654 to 3,632 (-0.6% change). The surname moved up 289 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,959 to #8,670.
FAQ
Mendonca surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Mendonca?
Name Census estimates that about 4,165 living Americans carry the surname Mendonca. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 82,294 residents.
How common is Mendonca?
Mendonca ranks #8,670 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.22 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 3,632 people with the surname Mendonca. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,165), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.22 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 Mendonca.
Has Mendonca become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Mendonca went from 3,654 recorded bearers to 3,632. That is a decrease of 22 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,959 to #8,670.
What does the Census say about the background of Mendonca?
Among Census respondents with the surname Mendonca, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.9%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (8.3%) and Hispanic (7.4%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Mendonca in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.9% (2,720 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Mendonca appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (8.3%), Hispanic (7.4%). 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 Mendonca (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 Mendonca mean?
A Portuguese toponymic surname indicating someone from Mendonça, a parish in northern Portugal. 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 Mendonca (1.22 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 common is the surname Mendonca?
If you just want to know how many people are called Mendonca, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.