2000
#2,693
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 12,317
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.57
Uncommon Last name
Ontiveros
A Spanish habitational surname indicating the person was from any of several places named Ontiveros, meaning "hundred springs."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 17,858 Americans carry the last name Ontiveros. That puts it at #2,283 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.21 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 19,193 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ontiveros 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
18K
1 in 19,193
Census rank
#2,283
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 15,573 bearers of the surname Ontiveros in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.21 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2283rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ontiveros, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ontiveros
The surname Ontiveros is of Spanish origin, derived from the medieval Spanish village of Ontiveros, located in the province of Avila. The name is believed to have emerged in the 9th or 10th century during the Reconquista, the period when Christian forces gradually regained control of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.
The earliest recorded mention of the name Ontiveros can be traced back to a document from the year 1122, which refers to a nobleman named Gonzalo Ontiveros who fought alongside King Alfonso VIII of Castile. This suggests that the name had already gained some prominence by the 12th century.
In the 14th century, a notable figure named Juan Ontiveros was recorded as being a prominent landowner and military commander in the service of King Pedro I of Castile. Juan Ontiveros played a significant role in the battles against the Kingdom of Aragon during the War of the Two Peters, which took place between 1356 and 1369.
During the 16th century, the Ontiveros name gained further recognition when a wealthy merchant named Alonso Ontiveros established a successful trade business in Seville, facilitating the exchange of goods between Spain and its colonies in the Americas. Alonso Ontiveros was born in 1521 and passed away in 1598.
Another individual of note was Beatriz Ontiveros, a nun who lived in the 17th century and was renowned for her piety and charitable works. She founded a convent in Madrid in 1642 and dedicated her life to serving the poor and educating young girls. Beatriz Ontiveros was born in 1597 and died in 1671.
In more recent centuries, the Ontiveros surname has been associated with several distinguished individuals. One example is Miguel Ontiveros, a Spanish philosopher and writer who was born in 1791 and died in 1865. He was known for his influential works on ethics and political theory.
Another notable figure was Juana Ontiveros, a celebrated artist from the late 19th century who specialized in portraiture and landscape painting. She was born in 1848 and passed away in 1923, leaving behind a significant body of work that is highly regarded in Spanish art circles.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ontiveros
Among Census respondents with the surname Ontiveros, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Ontiveros 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 Ontiveros surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.1% · 14,505
- White5.5% · 857
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 65
- Two or more races0.4% · 61
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 51
- Black or African American0.2% · 34
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ontiveros
Ontiveros 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
#2,225
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,382
+4,065 bearers (+33.0%)
Per 100,000 5.55
Rank movement Up 468 places
2020
#2,283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 15,573
-809 bearers (-4.9%)
Per 100,000 5.21
Rank movement Down 58 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,693 | 12,317 | 4.57 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,225 | 16,382 | 5.55 | +4,065 bearers (+33.0%) | Up 468 places |
| 2020 | #2,283 | 15,573 | 5.21 | -809 bearers (-4.9%) | Down 58 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 Ontiveros 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 | #2,225 | #2,283 | -2.6% |
| Count | 16,382 | 15,573 | -4.9% |
| Per 100K | 5.55 | 5.21 | -6.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ontiveros bearers went from 16,382 to 15,573 (-4.9% change). The surname moved down 58 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,225 to #2,283.
FAQ
Ontiveros surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ontiveros?
Name Census estimates that about 17,858 living Americans carry the surname Ontiveros. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 19,193 residents.
How common is Ontiveros?
Ontiveros ranks #2,283 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.21 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 15,573 people with the surname Ontiveros. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (17,858), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.21 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.21 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Ontiveros.
Has Ontiveros become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ontiveros went from 16,382 recorded bearers to 15,573. That is a decrease of 809 (-4.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #2,225 to #2,283.
What does the Census say about the background of Ontiveros?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ontiveros, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Ontiveros in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (14,505 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ontiveros appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.1%), White (5.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Ontiveros (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 Ontiveros mean?
A Spanish habitational surname indicating the person was from any of several places named Ontiveros, meaning "hundred springs." 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 Ontiveros (5.21 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 are called Ontiveros?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Ontiveros on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.