2000
#9,118
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,291
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.22
Rare Last name
Pastrana
A habitational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Pastrana in Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,000 Americans carry the last name Pastrana. That puts it at #7,371 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.46 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 68,551 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Pastrana 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
5.0K
1 in 68,551
Census rank
#7,371
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,360 bearers of the surname Pastrana in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.46 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7371st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Pastrana, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 85.5%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Pastrana
The surname Pastrana is believed to have originated in Spain, specifically in the region of Castile. It likely emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century.
Pastrana is derived from the Spanish place name "Pastrana," which is a town located in the province of Guadalajara, in the Castile-La Mancha region of central Spain. The name itself is thought to have its roots in the Latin word "pastra," meaning "pasture" or "grazing land."
One of the earliest known references to the surname Pastrana can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías, a medieval manuscript that documented the ownership of lands and properties in Castile during the 14th century. The name appears in connection with the town of Pastrana, suggesting that early bearers of the surname may have been landowners or residents of that area.
In the 15th century, there are records of a nobleman named Juan Ramírez de Pastrana, who served as a diplomat and ambassador for the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon. His birth and death dates are uncertain, but he is believed to have lived during the latter half of the 15th century.
Another notable figure with the surname Pastrana was Gregoria Pastrana, a Spanish woman born in 1834 who was exhibited as a "bearded lady" in circuses and sideshows across Europe and the United States due to a rare genetic condition that caused excessive hair growth on her face and body. She died in 1860 at the age of 26.
In the 17th century, a Spanish painter named Juan Bautista Martínez del Mazo Pastrana (1612-1667) gained recognition for his works, particularly his portraits of the Spanish royal family.
During the colonial era, the Pastrana surname also spread to the Americas, with bearers of the name settling in various Spanish territories, including parts of Mexico, Peru, and Colombia.
One prominent individual with the Pastrana surname was Misael Pastrana Borrero (1923-1997), a Colombian lawyer and politician who served as the President of Colombia from 1970 to 1974.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Pastrana
Among Census respondents with the surname Pastrana, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 85.5%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Pastrana 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 Pastrana surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino85.5% · 3,727
- White7.2% · 314
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.6% · 245
- Two or more races0.8% · 37
- Black or African American0.6% · 24
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Pastrana
Pastrana 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
#6,943
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,830
+1,539 bearers (+46.8%)
Per 100,000 1.64
Rank movement Up 2,175 places
2020
#7,371
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,360
-470 bearers (-9.7%)
Per 100,000 1.46
Rank movement Down 428 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,118 | 3,291 | 1.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,943 | 4,830 | 1.64 | +1,539 bearers (+46.8%) | Up 2,175 places |
| 2020 | #7,371 | 4,360 | 1.46 | -470 bearers (-9.7%) | Down 428 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 Pastrana 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 | #6,943 | #7,371 | -6.2% |
| Count | 4,830 | 4,360 | -9.7% |
| Per 100K | 1.64 | 1.46 | -11.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Pastrana bearers went from 4,830 to 4,360 (-9.7% change). The surname moved down 428 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,943 to #7,371.
FAQ
Pastrana surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Pastrana?
Name Census estimates that about 5,000 living Americans carry the surname Pastrana. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 68,551 residents.
How common is Pastrana?
Pastrana ranks #7,371 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.46 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 4,360 people with the surname Pastrana. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,000), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.46 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.46 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 Pastrana.
Has Pastrana become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Pastrana went from 4,830 recorded bearers to 4,360. That is a decrease of 470 (-9.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,943 to #7,371.
What does the Census say about the background of Pastrana?
Among Census respondents with the surname Pastrana, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 85.5%. The next largest groups are White (7.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Pastrana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.5% (3,727 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Pastrana appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (85.5%), White (7.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%). 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 Pastrana (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 Pastrana mean?
A habitational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Pastrana in Spain. 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 Pastrana (1.46 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 surname Pastrana?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.