2000
#4,484
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,282
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.70
Uncommon Last name
Miguel
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Michael, meaning "Who is like God?"
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 12,754 Americans carry the last name Miguel. That puts it at #3,169 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.72 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 26,874 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Miguel 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 Miguel with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
13K
1 in 26,874
Census rank
#3,169
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
11K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 11,122 bearers of the surname Miguel in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.72 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3169th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Miguel, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.4%) and White (12.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Miguel
The surname Miguel has its origins in Spain and Portugal, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is a patronymic name derived from the given name Miguel, which in turn comes from the Hebrew name Michael, meaning "who is like God?"
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Miguel can be found in medieval Spanish and Portuguese documents, such as birth records, land deeds, and tax rolls. It was particularly prevalent in regions like Galicia, Castile, and Andalusia, where the name's roots can be traced back to the 12th and 13th centuries.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Miguel surname was Juan Miguel, a nobleman who lived in the Kingdom of Aragon during the 13th century. He was a prominent figure in the court of King James I of Aragon and played a crucial role in the Reconquista, the campaign to drive the Moors out of the Iberian Peninsula.
In the 14th century, the Miguel surname appeared in the records of the city of Seville, where a family of merchants and landowners bearing the name was documented. This family was known for their involvement in the lucrative trade between Spain and the Americas during the Age of Exploration.
Another notable figure in the history of the Miguel surname was Félix Miguel, a Spanish soldier and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to conquer Mexico in the early 16th century. Miguel played a pivotal role in the fall of the Aztec Empire and later served as a governor in the newly established Spanish colonies.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Miguel surname spread across the Spanish Empire, with bearers of the name settling in various parts of the Americas, including Mexico, Peru, and the Caribbean islands. One notable example is Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the renowned Spanish novelist and playwright, best known for his masterpiece Don Quixote, published in the early 17th century.
As the centuries passed, the Miguel surname continued to be prominent in Spain and Portugal, as well as in their former colonial territories. Notable figures bearing the name include Miguel de Unamuno, a renowned Spanish philosopher and writer of the 20th century, and Miguel Ángel Asturias, a Guatemalan novelist and diplomat who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1967.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Miguel
Among Census respondents with the surname Miguel, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.4%) and White (12.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Miguel 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 Miguel surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino62.1% · 6,908
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.4% · 1,708
- White12.1% · 1,346
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.6% · 511
- Black or African American3.1% · 343
- Two or more races2.8% · 306
Timeline
Historical Census data for Miguel
Miguel 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
#3,303
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,861
+3,579 bearers (+49.1%)
Per 100,000 3.68
Rank movement Up 1,181 places
2020
#3,169
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 11,122
+261 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 3.72
Rank movement Up 134 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,484 | 7,282 | 2.70 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,303 | 10,861 | 3.68 | +3,579 bearers (+49.1%) | Up 1,181 places |
| 2020 | #3,169 | 11,122 | 3.72 | +261 bearers (+2.4%) | Up 134 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 Miguel 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 | #3,303 | #3,169 | 4.1% |
| Count | 10,861 | 11,122 | 2.4% |
| Per 100K | 3.68 | 3.72 | 1.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Miguel bearers went from 10,861 to 11,122 (+2.4% change). The surname moved up 134 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,303 to #3,169.
FAQ
Miguel surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Miguel?
Name Census estimates that about 12,754 living Americans carry the surname Miguel. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 26,874 residents.
How common is Miguel?
Miguel ranks #3,169 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.72 per 100,000 residents, which is about 4 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 11,122 people with the surname Miguel. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (12,754), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.72 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.72 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 4 of them to have the surname Miguel.
Has Miguel become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Miguel went from 10,861 recorded bearers to 11,122. That is an increase of 261 (+2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #3,303 to #3,169.
What does the Census say about the background of Miguel?
Among Census respondents with the surname Miguel, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 62.1%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.4%) and White (12.1%). 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 Miguel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.1% (6,908 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Miguel appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (62.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (15.4%), White (12.1%). 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 Miguel (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 Miguel mean?
A patronymic surname derived from the given name Michael, meaning "Who is like God?" 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 Miguel (3.72 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 last name Miguel?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the surname Miguel on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.