2000
#10,634
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,764
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.02
Rare Last name
Porto
A locational surname referring to someone from the city of Porto, Portugal, or any of several smaller places named Porto.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,523 Americans carry the last name Porto. That puts it at #10,016 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 97,290 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Porto 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
3.5K
1 in 97,290
Census rank
#10,016
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,072 bearers of the surname Porto in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10016th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Porto, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Porto
The surname Porto originated in Portugal during medieval times. It is derived from the Latin word 'portus', meaning a port or harbor. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a port or worked in maritime trade.
Porto was initially found in northern Portugal, particularly in the city of Porto, which takes its name from the Latin 'Portus Cale'. This city has been an important seaport since ancient Roman times. Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname appear in Portuguese records from the 13th and 14th centuries.
One notable early bearer of the name was João do Porto, a 14th-century Portuguese explorer who traveled along the West African coast. In 1346, he reached the Rio de Ouro (modern-day Senegal River), further south than any previous European explorer.
Another prominent figure was Amador Patricio do Porto, a 16th-century Portuguese soldier and explorer. He accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on the first circumnavigation of the globe from 1519 to 1522, though he did not survive the entire voyage.
The surname spread throughout the Portuguese Empire during the Age of Exploration. It can be found in former Portuguese colonies like Brazil, Cape Verde, and Angola. One example is José Vieira Porto (1719-1793), a Brazilian priest and philosopher who advocated for Brazilian independence from Portugal.
In Italy, the similar surname Porto emerged independently, derived from the Italian word 'porto' meaning port. Michele Porto (1569-1648) was an Italian Jesuit priest and mathematician who made contributions to the study of optics and the telescope.
Over time, variations like Oporto and Da Porto also developed. Pedro da Porto (1550-1612) was a Portuguese architect and engineer who designed several churches and fortifications in Portugal and Brazil.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Porto
Among Census respondents with the surname Porto, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Porto 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 Porto surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White69.6% · 2,139
- Hispanic or Latino25.5% · 783
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 79
- Two or more races1.1% · 34
- Black or African American0.9% · 28
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 9
Timeline
Historical Census data for Porto
Porto 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
#9,234
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,526
+762 bearers (+27.6%)
Per 100,000 1.20
Rank movement Up 1,400 places
2020
#10,016
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,072
-454 bearers (-12.9%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Down 782 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,634 | 2,764 | 1.02 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,234 | 3,526 | 1.20 | +762 bearers (+27.6%) | Up 1,400 places |
| 2020 | #10,016 | 3,072 | 1.03 | -454 bearers (-12.9%) | Down 782 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 Porto 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 | #9,234 | #10,016 | -8.5% |
| Count | 3,526 | 3,072 | -12.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.20 | 1.03 | -14.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Porto bearers went from 3,526 to 3,072 (-12.9% change). The surname moved down 782 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,234 to #10,016.
FAQ
Porto surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Porto?
Name Census estimates that about 3,523 living Americans carry the surname Porto. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 97,290 residents.
How common is Porto?
Porto ranks #10,016 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.03 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 3,072 people with the surname Porto. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,523), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.03 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 Porto.
Has Porto become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Porto went from 3,526 recorded bearers to 3,072. That is a decrease of 454 (-12.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,234 to #10,016.
What does the Census say about the background of Porto?
Among Census respondents with the surname Porto, the largest self-reported group is White at 69.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (25.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Porto in the 2020 Census, accounting for 69.6% (2,139 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Porto appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (69.6%), Hispanic (25.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.6%). 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 Porto (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 Porto mean?
A locational surname referring to someone from the city of Porto, Portugal, or any of several smaller places named Porto. 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 Porto (1.03 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 Porto?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.