2000
#5,520
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,790
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.15
Rare Last name
Parada
A Spanish and Portuguese surname derived from the word "parada," meaning "a stopping place" or "a resting place."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,884 Americans carry the last name Parada. That puts it at #4,000 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 34,678 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Parada 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
9.9K
1 in 34,678
Census rank
#4,000
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.9
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,619 bearers of the surname Parada in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4000th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Parada, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.5%. The next largest groups are White (6.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Parada
The surname Parada is of Spanish origin, derived from the Spanish word "parada" meaning "stop" or "halt." It is believed to have originated in the 15th or 16th century as a descriptive surname, likely given to someone who lived near a stopping point or rest area along a major road or trade route.
The earliest recorded instances of the Parada surname can be found in various historical documents from Spain, particularly in regions such as Andalusia, Castile, and Galicia. One of the earliest mentions is in the Archivo Histórico Nacional de España (National Historical Archive of Spain), which contains records dating back to the 15th century.
In the 16th century, a notable figure with the Parada surname was Juan de Parada, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro. Juan de Parada was born in Seville, Spain, around 1500 and died in the 1560s.
Another historical figure was Pedro de Parada, a Spanish military officer and explorer who served under Hernán Cortés during the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. Pedro de Parada was born in Extremadura, Spain, around 1485 and died in the 1540s.
In the 17th century, a prominent individual with the Parada surname was Diego de Parada, a Spanish military officer and governor of the province of Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina and Uruguay) from 1639 to 1642.
During the 18th century, Francisco de Parada y Mendoza was a Spanish military officer and governor of the province of Tucumán (present-day Argentina) from 1772 to 1782.
In the 19th century, Juan Parada was a Chilean politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Chile from 1865 to 1866. He was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1808 and died in 1899.
The Parada surname has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Parada de Arriba and Parada de Abajo in the province of Salamanca, and Parada de Rubiales in the province of Salamanca, reflecting the original meaning of the word "parada" as a stopping point or rest area.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Parada
Among Census respondents with the surname Parada, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.5%. The next largest groups are White (6.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Parada 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 Parada surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.5% · 7,888
- White6.8% · 586
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 62
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 33
- Black or African American0.3% · 26
- Two or more races0.3% · 24
Timeline
Historical Census data for Parada
Parada 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
#4,103
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,649
+2,859 bearers (+49.4%)
Per 100,000 2.93
Rank movement Up 1,417 places
2020
#4,000
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,619
-30 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 2.88
Rank movement Up 103 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,520 | 5,790 | 2.15 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,103 | 8,649 | 2.93 | +2,859 bearers (+49.4%) | Up 1,417 places |
| 2020 | #4,000 | 8,619 | 2.88 | -30 bearers (-0.3%) | Up 103 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 Parada 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 | #4,103 | #4,000 | 2.5% |
| Count | 8,649 | 8,619 | -0.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.93 | 2.88 | -1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Parada bearers went from 8,649 to 8,619 (-0.3% change). The surname moved up 103 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,103 to #4,000.
FAQ
Parada surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Parada?
Name Census estimates that about 9,884 living Americans carry the surname Parada. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 34,678 residents.
How common is Parada?
Parada ranks #4,000 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.88 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,619 people with the surname Parada. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,884), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.88 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.88 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Parada.
Has Parada become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Parada went from 8,649 recorded bearers to 8,619. That is a decrease of 30 (-0.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,103 to #4,000.
What does the Census say about the background of Parada?
Among Census respondents with the surname Parada, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.5%. The next largest groups are White (6.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%). 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 Parada in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.5% (7,888 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Parada appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (91.5%), White (6.8%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.7%). 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 Parada (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 Parada mean?
A Spanish and Portuguese surname derived from the word "parada," meaning "a stopping place" or "a resting place." 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 Parada (2.88 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 common is the surname Parada?
If you just want to know how many people are called Parada, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.