2000
#6,057
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,224
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.94
Rare Last name
Puga
A Galician and Portuguese topographic surname referring to a hill, mound, or elevated place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,665 Americans carry the last name Puga. That puts it at #5,083 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.24 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 44,717 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Puga 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
7.7K
1 in 44,717
Census rank
#5,083
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.7K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,684 bearers of the surname Puga in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.24 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5083rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Puga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.1%) and Black (0.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Puga
The surname Puga is of Spanish origin, with its roots traced back to the northern regions of Spain, particularly the Basque Country and Navarre. The name is believed to have derived from the Basque word "puga," meaning a small hill or mound.
In the early medieval period, the name Puga was commonly found in the areas around the Pyrenees Mountains, where the Basque language and culture have a strong presence. The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in documents dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries.
One notable historical reference to the name Puga is in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript that was a pivotal guide for pilgrims traveling the Camino de Santiago. The manuscript mentions a village called "Puga" along the famous pilgrimage route, suggesting the name's association with a specific location.
During the 13th century, the name Puga gained prominence in the Kingdom of Navarre, where several members of the nobility bore this surname. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name was Sancho Puga, a nobleman who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.
In the 15th century, the Puga family played a significant role in the conquest and settlement of the Canary Islands, with Juan Puga being one of the prominent figures in the expeditions led by Juan de Bethencourt.
Another notable individual with the surname Puga was Vasco de Puga, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. Vasco de Puga was born in Castile around 1490 and was one of the few survivors of the famous Noche Triste (Sad Night) during the Siege of Tenochtitlan in 1520.
In the realm of literature, one of the most celebrated figures with the surname Puga was María de Zayas y Sotomayor (1590-1661), a Spanish novelist and poet who is considered one of the earliest and most important women writers in the Spanish Golden Age.
As the centuries passed, the Puga surname spread across Spain and its colonies, with many individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various fields, including politics, military, arts, and sciences.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Puga
Among Census respondents with the surname Puga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.1%) and Black (0.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Puga 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 Puga surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.4% · 6,245
- White5.1% · 341
- Black or African American0.5% · 36
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 34
- Two or more races0.3% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Puga
Puga 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
#4,977
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,056
+1,832 bearers (+35.1%)
Per 100,000 2.39
Rank movement Up 1,080 places
2020
#5,083
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,684
-372 bearers (-5.3%)
Per 100,000 2.24
Rank movement Down 106 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #6,057 | 5,224 | 1.94 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,977 | 7,056 | 2.39 | +1,832 bearers (+35.1%) | Up 1,080 places |
| 2020 | #5,083 | 6,684 | 2.24 | -372 bearers (-5.3%) | Down 106 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 Puga 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 | #4,977 | #5,083 | -2.1% |
| Count | 7,056 | 6,684 | -5.3% |
| Per 100K | 2.39 | 2.24 | -6.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Puga bearers went from 7,056 to 6,684 (-5.3% change). The surname moved down 106 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,977 to #5,083.
FAQ
Puga surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Puga?
Name Census estimates that about 7,665 living Americans carry the surname Puga. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 44,717 residents.
How common is Puga?
Puga ranks #5,083 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.24 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 6,684 people with the surname Puga. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,665), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.24 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.24 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 Puga.
Has Puga become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Puga went from 7,056 recorded bearers to 6,684. That is a decrease of 372 (-5.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #4,977 to #5,083.
What does the Census say about the background of Puga?
Among Census respondents with the surname Puga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.1%) and Black (0.5%). 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 Puga in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.4% (6,245 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Puga appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.4%), White (5.1%), Black (0.5%). 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 Puga (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 Puga mean?
A Galician and Portuguese topographic surname referring to a hill, mound, or elevated 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 Puga (2.24 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 Puga?
See how many Americans have the surname Puga on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.