2000
#17,871
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,444
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.54
Rare Last name
Quintal
A surname derived from the Spanish and Portuguese word for a metric weight unit.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,673 Americans carry the last name Quintal. That puts it at #18,678 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 204,874 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Quintal 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Quintal with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.7K
1 in 204,874
Census rank
#18,678
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,459 bearers of the surname Quintal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 18678th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Quintal, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Quintal
The surname QUINTAL has its origins in Spain and Portugal, where it was derived from the Spanish and Portuguese word "quintal," meaning a unit of weight or measure. The name likely originated in the 14th or 15th century, during the heyday of the Iberian maritime and mercantile empires.
It is believed that the name was initially given to individuals involved in the trading of goods, particularly those who dealt in the weighing and measurement of commodities. As Spanish and Portuguese explorers, merchants, and settlers spread across the globe, the name QUINTAL traveled with them.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name QUINTAL can be found in the Libro de la Nobleza y Raices, a 15th-century Spanish genealogical work that chronicles the noble lineages of Spain. This suggests that the name had already gained recognition and status by that time.
In the 16th century, the name appears in records from Spanish and Portuguese colonies in the Americas and Asia, indicating the widespread dispersion of individuals bearing this surname. For instance, Pedro Quintal, a Portuguese settler, was among the first Europeans to arrive in Brazil in the early 1500s.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the QUINTAL surname can be found in various historical documents from Spain, Portugal, and their respective overseas territories. One notable figure was Mateo Quintal, a Spanish sailor and explorer who accompanied the expeditions of Álvaro de Mendaña in the late 16th century, contributing to the discovery and exploration of various Pacific islands.
Another prominent individual was Gaspar Quintal, a Portuguese trader who established a flourishing business in Macau, China, in the early 17th century. His descendants played a significant role in the development of the region's economic and cultural ties with Europe.
In the 19th century, the QUINTAL surname gained further recognition with the birth of José Joaquim Quintal, a renowned Brazilian poet and journalist who lived from 1828 to 1895. His works celebrated the beauty of his homeland and its people, earning him a place among Brazil's literary greats.
The name QUINTAL has also been associated with various place names and locations, including the village of Quintal in the Azores archipelago of Portugal, as well as the Quintal neighborhood in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Throughout its history, the surname QUINTAL has been borne by individuals from diverse backgrounds and professions, reflecting the far-reaching influence of the Iberian explorers and traders who carried this name across the globe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quintal
Among Census respondents with the surname Quintal, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Quintal 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 Quintal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.4% · 984
- Hispanic or Latino17.1% · 249
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.7% · 112
- Two or more races4.5% · 65
- Black or African American3.0% · 44
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Quintal
Quintal 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
#16,939
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,679
+235 bearers (+16.3%)
Per 100,000 0.57
Rank movement Up 932 places
2020
#18,678
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,459
-220 bearers (-13.1%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Down 1,739 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #17,871 | 1,444 | 0.54 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,939 | 1,679 | 0.57 | +235 bearers (+16.3%) | Up 932 places |
| 2020 | #18,678 | 1,459 | 0.49 | -220 bearers (-13.1%) | Down 1,739 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 Quintal 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 | #16,939 | #18,678 | -10.3% |
| Count | 1,679 | 1,459 | -13.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.57 | 0.49 | -14.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Quintal bearers went from 1,679 to 1,459 (-13.1% change). The surname moved down 1,739 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,939 to #18,678.
FAQ
Quintal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Quintal?
Name Census estimates that about 1,673 living Americans carry the surname Quintal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 204,874 residents.
How common is Quintal?
Quintal ranks #18,678 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.49 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,459 people with the surname Quintal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,673), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.49 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Quintal.
Has Quintal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Quintal went from 1,679 recorded bearers to 1,459. That is a decrease of 220 (-13.1%). In the national ranking it fell from #16,939 to #18,678.
What does the Census say about the background of Quintal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Quintal, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (17.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Quintal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.4% (984 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Quintal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.4%), Hispanic (17.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (7.7%). 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 Quintal (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 Quintal mean?
A surname derived from the Spanish and Portuguese word for a metric weight unit. 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 Quintal (0.49 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 Americans have the surname Quintal?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.