2000
#15,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,710
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.63
Rare Last name
Morado
A Spanish surname derived from the word "morado," meaning purple, likely referring to someone who wore purple clothing.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,296 Americans carry the last name Morado. That puts it at #14,377 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.67 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 149,283 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Morado 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
2.3K
1 in 149,283
Census rank
#14,377
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,002 bearers of the surname Morado in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.67 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 14377th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Morado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.5%. The next largest groups are White (8.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Morado
The surname Morado is believed to have originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "morado," meaning "purple" or "dark-colored." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who wore purple clothing or had a distinctive dark complexion.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Morado can be found in the Catalan Repartimientos, a collection of documents from the 13th century that documented the distribution of land and property in the territories conquered by the Kingdom of Aragon. These records mention individuals with the surname Morado, indicating that the name was already in use during this time.
In the 14th century, the name Morado appeared in the Libro de Repartimiento de Murcia, a document that recorded the allocation of land and properties in the region of Murcia after its conquest by the Crown of Castile. This further solidifies the presence of the Morado surname in various parts of Spain during the medieval era.
One notable individual bearing the Morado surname was Juan Morado, a Spanish soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of the Canary Islands in the 15th century. He was born in Seville around 1425 and played a crucial role in the subjugation of the indigenous Guanche population on the island of Tenerife.
Another prominent figure with the surname Morado was Andrés Morado, a Spanish painter active in the 17th century. He was born in Seville in 1628 and is known for his religious paintings and works depicting scenes from daily life in Spain during that period.
In the 18th century, the Morado surname can be found in records from the Spanish colonial territories in the Americas. One example is José Antonio Morado, a Spanish military officer and governor of the province of Sonora in present-day northern Mexico. He served in this role from 1770 to 1772.
During the 19th century, Francisco Morado was a notable figure in the Mexican War of Independence. Born in Guanajuato in 1785, he fought alongside Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, one of the principal leaders of the Mexican independence movement, and later served as a general in the Mexican army.
While the Morado surname is primarily associated with Spain and its former colonies, it has also been found in other parts of the world, likely due to migration and intermarriage. However, the historical roots of this surname can be traced back to the Iberian Peninsula and the Spanish-speaking regions of Europe and the Americas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Morado
Among Census respondents with the surname Morado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.5%. The next largest groups are White (8.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Morado 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 Morado surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino86.5% · 1,731
- White8.5% · 171
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.3% · 47
- Black or African American1.0% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 17
- Two or more races0.7% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Morado
Morado 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
#14,178
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,118
+408 bearers (+23.9%)
Per 100,000 0.72
Rank movement Up 1,513 places
2020
#14,377
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,002
-116 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.67
Rank movement Down 199 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,691 | 1,710 | 0.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,178 | 2,118 | 0.72 | +408 bearers (+23.9%) | Up 1,513 places |
| 2020 | #14,377 | 2,002 | 0.67 | -116 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 199 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 Morado 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 | #14,178 | #14,377 | -1.4% |
| Count | 2,118 | 2,002 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.72 | 0.67 | -7.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Morado bearers went from 2,118 to 2,002 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 199 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,178 to #14,377.
FAQ
Morado surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Morado?
Name Census estimates that about 2,296 living Americans carry the surname Morado. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 149,283 residents.
How common is Morado?
Morado ranks #14,377 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.67 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 2,002 people with the surname Morado. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,296), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.67 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.67 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 Morado.
Has Morado become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Morado went from 2,118 recorded bearers to 2,002. That is a decrease of 116 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #14,178 to #14,377.
What does the Census say about the background of Morado?
Among Census respondents with the surname Morado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 86.5%. The next largest groups are White (8.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Morado in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (1,731 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Morado appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (86.5%), White (8.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.3%). 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 Morado (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 Morado mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the word "morado," meaning purple, likely referring to someone who wore purple clothing. 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 Morado (0.67 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 Americans have the surname Morado?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.