2000
#4,210
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,802
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.89
Rare Last name
Orosco
Derived from the Basque place name Orozko, meaning "place of bitter water" or "place of yellow soil."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,896 Americans carry the last name Orosco. That puts it at #4,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.30 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 43,409 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Orosco 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
7.9K
1 in 43,409
Census rank
#4,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.9K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,886 bearers of the surname Orosco in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.30 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Orosco, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.1%. The next largest groups are White (7.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Orosco
The surname Orosco originated in Spain and can be traced back to the 11th century. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "oropesa," which means "golden weight" or "weight of gold." This suggests that the name may have been associated with people involved in the weighing or trading of gold or other precious metals.
The name Orosco was first recorded in the Basque region of northern Spain, where it was commonly found in areas such as Navarra, Álava, and Guipúzcoa. One of the earliest documented references to the name comes from a 12th-century manuscript mentioning an individual named "Orosco de Vitoria" from the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz in Álava.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname Orosco began to spread throughout Spain, particularly in regions like Castile and Andalusia. It is believed that some members of the Orosco family may have been among the Spanish conquistadors who explored and colonized parts of the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Orosco was Diego de Orosco, a Spanish soldier and explorer born around 1480. He is known for his involvement in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro and his participation in the founding of the city of Trujillo in 1535.
Another notable figure with the surname Orosco was Pedro de Orosco, a 16th-century Spanish soldier and administrator who served as the governor of the Philippine Islands from 1590 to 1593. He played a significant role in the Spanish colonization of the Philippines and the establishment of Spanish settlements in the region.
In the 17th century, Juan Orosco y Covarrubias (1585-1656) was a prominent Spanish Catholic prelate who served as the Archbishop of Manfredonia in Italy and later as the Bishop of Guadix in Spain.
In the 18th century, Antonio Orosco (1717-1792) was a Spanish painter and engraver known for his religious works and portraits. He was born in Cadiz and spent much of his career in Madrid, where he worked for the Spanish royal court.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Francisco Orosco (1864-1924) was a Mexican revolutionary and military leader who played a significant role in the Mexican Revolution. He fought alongside Pancho Villa and held various military and political positions during and after the revolution.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Orosco
Among Census respondents with the surname Orosco, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.1%. The next largest groups are White (7.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Orosco 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 Orosco surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.1% · 5,999
- White7.9% · 543
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 106
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.5% · 104
- Black or African American1.3% · 87
- Two or more races0.7% · 47
Timeline
Historical Census data for Orosco
Orosco 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
#4,273
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,313
+511 bearers (+6.5%)
Per 100,000 2.82
Rank movement Down 63 places
2020
#4,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,886
-1,427 bearers (-17.2%)
Per 100,000 2.30
Rank movement Down 681 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,210 | 7,802 | 2.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,273 | 8,313 | 2.82 | +511 bearers (+6.5%) | Down 63 places |
| 2020 | #4,954 | 6,886 | 2.30 | -1,427 bearers (-17.2%) | Down 681 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 Orosco 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 | #4,273 | #4,954 | -15.9% |
| Count | 8,313 | 6,886 | -17.2% |
| Per 100K | 2.82 | 2.30 | -18.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Orosco bearers went from 8,313 to 6,886 (-17.2% change). The surname moved down 681 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,273 to #4,954.
FAQ
Orosco surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Orosco?
Name Census estimates that about 7,896 living Americans carry the surname Orosco. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 43,409 residents.
How common is Orosco?
Orosco ranks #4,954 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.30 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,886 people with the surname Orosco. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,896), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.3 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.30 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Orosco.
Has Orosco become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Orosco went from 8,313 recorded bearers to 6,886. That is a decrease of 1,427 (-17.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,273 to #4,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Orosco?
Among Census respondents with the surname Orosco, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.1%. The next largest groups are White (7.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%). 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 Orosco in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.1% (5,999 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Orosco appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (87.1%), White (7.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%). 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 Orosco (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 Orosco mean?
Derived from the Basque place name Orozko, meaning "place of bitter water" or "place of yellow soil." 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 Orosco (2.30 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 Orosco?
Want to know how many people have the surname Orosco? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.