2010
#127,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 134
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Orneles
A surname derived from the Spanish word for elm tree.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 110 Americans carry the last name Orneles. That puts it at #156,540 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,115,949 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Orneles 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
110
1 in 3,115,949
Census rank
#156,540
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
96
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 96 bearers of the surname Orneles in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 156540th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Orneles, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.7%. The next largest groups are White (7.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Orneles
The surname Orneles has its origins traced back to the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in the regions of Spain and Portugal. It emerged during the period of Moorish rule in the 8th to 15th centuries. The name is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "arnaqa," which means "rabbit" or "hare." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to a person associated with rabbits, perhaps a hunter or someone involved in trading rabbit fur or meat.
One of the earliest documented references to the name Orneles can be found in a 12th-century manuscript from the Castilian region of Spain. The manuscript mentions a landowner named Pedro Orneles, who was granted a parcel of land by the local nobility for his services. This record provides evidence of the surname's existence during the late medieval period.
In the 16th century, the name Orneles appeared in church records from the town of Almería, located in the southern region of Andalusia, Spain. These records document the baptisms, marriages, and burials of individuals bearing the Orneles surname, indicating their presence in the area during that time.
A notable individual with the surname Orneles was Juana Orneles, a 17th-century Spanish painter from the city of Seville. Orneles was celebrated for her portraits and religious works, which were commissioned by wealthy patrons and churches throughout Andalusia. Her artistic contributions have been recognized in various historical accounts of Spanish art.
Another figure of note was Diego Orneles, a 19th-century Mexican politician and military leader. Born in 1820, Orneles played a significant role in the Mexican-American War and later served as the governor of the state of Nuevo León from 1867 to 1871. His political and military achievements are well-documented in Mexican historical records.
In the late 19th century, the Orneles surname can be traced to the town of Ribera del Fresno in the province of Badajoz, Spain. Local records from this period mention a family of landowners and farmers bearing the name Orneles, indicating their presence in the region during that time.
The name Orneles has also been associated with various place names throughout Spain and Portugal. For example, the village of Ornelas in the Algarve region of southern Portugal is believed to have derived its name from the surname. Similarly, there are several small towns and hamlets in Spain, such as Ornelas de la Vega in the province of Palencia, that bear similar names.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orneles
Among Census respondents with the surname Orneles, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.7%. The next largest groups are White (7.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Orneles 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 Orneles surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.7% · 89
- White7.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Orneles
Orneles appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#156,540
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 96
-38 bearers (-28.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 29,046 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #127,494 | 134 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #156,540 | 96 | 0.03 | -38 bearers (-28.4%) | Down 29,046 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 Orneles 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 | #127,494 | #156,540 | -22.8% |
| Count | 134 | 96 | -28.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.03 | -35.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Orneles bearers went from 134 to 96 (-28.4% change). The surname moved down 29,046 positions in the national ranking, going from #127,494 to #156,540.
FAQ
Orneles surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Orneles?
Name Census estimates that about 110 living Americans carry the surname Orneles. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,115,949 residents.
How common is Orneles?
Orneles ranks #156,540 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 96 people with the surname Orneles. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (110), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Orneles.
Has Orneles become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Orneles went from 134 recorded bearers to 96. That is a decrease of 38 (-28.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #127,494 to #156,540.
What does the Census say about the background of Orneles?
Among Census respondents with the surname Orneles, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.7%. The next largest groups are White (7.3%). 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 Orneles in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.7% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Orneles appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.7%), White (7.3%). 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 Orneles (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 Orneles mean?
A surname derived from the Spanish word for elm 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 Orneles (0.03 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 share the surname Orneles?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.