2000
#17,996
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,430
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.53
Rare Last name
Nogueira
A Portuguese toponymic surname indicating someone from any of various places named Nogueira, meaning "walnut tree."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,642 Americans carry the last name Nogueira. That puts it at #12,776 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.77 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 129,733 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Nogueira 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 Nogueira with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.6K
1 in 129,733
Census rank
#12,776
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,304 bearers of the surname Nogueira in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.77 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12776th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Nogueira, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Black (4.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Nogueira
The surname Nogueira originates from Portugal and is believed to have first emerged in the 12th or 13th century. It is derived from the Portuguese word "nogueira," which means "walnut tree." The name likely referred to someone who lived near a walnut tree or a place where walnut trees grew abundantly.
Nogueira is a toponymic surname, meaning it is derived from a place name. In this case, it may have been taken from one of several towns or villages in Portugal with the name Nogueira or a variation of it, such as Nogueira da Regedoura or Nogueira do Cravo.
The earliest recorded instance of the surname Nogueira can be found in the Livro Velho de Linhagens (Old Book of Lineages), a Portuguese genealogical manuscript from the 13th century. It mentions a nobleman named Mem Rodrigues Nogueira who lived during the reign of King Afonso III (1210-1279).
Another notable early bearer of the surname was João Afonso Nogueira, a Portuguese explorer and navigator who is credited with discovering the Cape Verde Islands in 1460. He was part of the early Portuguese expeditions along the West African coast, organized by Prince Henry the Navigator.
During the Age of Discovery, several Nogueiras were involved in the exploration and colonization of the Americas. One example is Pedro Álvares Nogueira, a Portuguese settler who established a sugar plantation in Brazil in the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, a prominent member of the Nogueira family was Tomás Nogueira, a Portuguese Jesuit missionary who worked in Japan and was martyred in Nagasaki in 1629.
Another notable figure was Manuel Nogueira de Gama, a 19th-century Portuguese nobleman and politician who served as Prime Minister of Portugal from 1827 to 1828.
Throughout history, the Nogueira surname has been found in various spellings, such as Noguera, Nogueyra, and Noguera de Ramoin. It has also been associated with certain place names in Portugal, such as Quinta da Nogueira (Walnut Farm) or Ribeira da Nogueira (Walnut Creek).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Nogueira
Among Census respondents with the surname Nogueira, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Black (4.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Nogueira 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 Nogueira surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White68.5% · 1,578
- Hispanic or Latino21.9% · 505
- Black or African American4.6% · 107
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 55
- Two or more races2.3% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
Timeline
Historical Census data for Nogueira
Nogueira 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
#15,074
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,957
+527 bearers (+36.9%)
Per 100,000 0.66
Rank movement Up 2,922 places
2020
#12,776
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,304
+347 bearers (+17.7%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 2,298 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,996 | 1,430 | 0.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #15,074 | 1,957 | 0.66 | +527 bearers (+36.9%) | Up 2,922 places |
| 2020 | #12,776 | 2,304 | 0.77 | +347 bearers (+17.7%) | Up 2,298 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 Nogueira 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 | #15,074 | #12,776 | 15.2% |
| Count | 1,957 | 2,304 | 17.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.66 | 0.77 | 16.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Nogueira bearers went from 1,957 to 2,304 (+17.7% change). The surname moved up 2,298 positions in the national ranking, going from #15,074 to #12,776.
FAQ
Nogueira surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Nogueira?
Name Census estimates that about 2,642 living Americans carry the surname Nogueira. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 129,733 residents.
How common is Nogueira?
Nogueira ranks #12,776 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.77 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 2,304 people with the surname Nogueira. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,642), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.77 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.77 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 Nogueira.
Has Nogueira become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Nogueira went from 1,957 recorded bearers to 2,304. That is an increase of 347 (+17.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #15,074 to #12,776.
What does the Census say about the background of Nogueira?
Among Census respondents with the surname Nogueira, the largest self-reported group is White at 68.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (21.9%) and Black (4.6%). 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 Nogueira in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.5% (1,578 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Nogueira appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (68.5%), Hispanic (21.9%), Black (4.6%). 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 Nogueira (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 Nogueira mean?
A Portuguese toponymic surname indicating someone from any of various places named Nogueira, meaning "walnut tree." 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 Nogueira (0.77 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 Nogueira?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.