2000
#18,269
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,401
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.52
Rare Last name
Puebla
A toponymic surname referring to someone from the city or region of Puebla in Mexico.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,510 Americans carry the last name Puebla. That puts it at #13,326 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.73 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 136,556 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Puebla 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
2.5K
1 in 136,556
Census rank
#13,326
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,189 bearers of the surname Puebla in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.73 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13326th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Puebla, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Puebla
The surname Puebla originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "pueblo," which means "town" or "village." The name likely referred to someone who lived in or came from a particular town or village.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Puebla can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrias, a medieval document that recorded the names of landowners and their properties in the Kingdom of Castile. This document dates back to the 14th century.
In the 16th century, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the name Puebla was brought to the New World. It is believed that some of the earliest settlers in the region now known as Mexico bore this surname.
One notable person with the surname Puebla was Juan de Puebla, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. He was born around 1480 and died in the mid-1500s.
Another individual of historical significance was Toribio de Puebla, a Spanish Catholic missionary who lived in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. He was one of the first Franciscan friars to arrive in the Americas and played a role in evangelizing the indigenous populations.
In the 17th century, a prominent figure with the surname Puebla was Juan de Puebla y Mendoza, a Spanish nobleman and military officer who served as the Governor of Cuba from 1660 to 1663.
In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the name was José Puebla Longo, a Spanish painter and engraver who was active in the late 1700s and early 1800s. He is known for his religious artworks and portraits.
Lastly, in the 19th century, José María Puebla y Arámbarri was a Spanish politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Congress of Deputies, representing the province of Navarre, in the latter half of the 1800s.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Puebla
Among Census respondents with the surname Puebla, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Puebla 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 Puebla surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.3% · 2,043
- White4.7% · 103
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 23
- Black or African American0.5% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
- Two or more races0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Puebla
Puebla 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
#13,815
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,188
+787 bearers (+56.2%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Up 4,454 places
2020
#13,326
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,189
+1 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 489 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,269 | 1,401 | 0.52 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,815 | 2,188 | 0.74 | +787 bearers (+56.2%) | Up 4,454 places |
| 2020 | #13,326 | 2,189 | 0.73 | +1 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 489 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 Puebla 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 | #13,815 | #13,326 | 3.5% |
| Count | 2,188 | 2,189 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.74 | 0.73 | -1.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Puebla bearers went from 2,188 to 2,189 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 489 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,815 to #13,326.
FAQ
Puebla surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Puebla?
Name Census estimates that about 2,510 living Americans carry the surname Puebla. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 136,556 residents.
How common is Puebla?
Puebla ranks #13,326 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.73 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 2,189 people with the surname Puebla. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,510), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.73 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.73 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 Puebla.
Has Puebla become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Puebla went from 2,188 recorded bearers to 2,189. That is an increase of 1 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,815 to #13,326.
What does the Census say about the background of Puebla?
Among Census respondents with the surname Puebla, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.3%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). 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 Puebla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.3% (2,043 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Puebla appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.3%), White (4.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.1%). 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 Puebla (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 Puebla mean?
A toponymic surname referring to someone from the city or region of Puebla in Mexico. 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 Puebla (0.73 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 Puebla?
Find out how many people have the last name Puebla on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.