2000
#33,206
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 649
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.24
Very Rare Last name
Quintela
A Spanish surname derived from "quinta" meaning a rural house or farmstead.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 876 Americans carry the last name Quintela. That puts it at #32,304 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.26 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 391,272 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Quintela 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
876
1 in 391,272
Census rank
#32,304
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
764
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 764 bearers of the surname Quintela in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.26 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 32304th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Quintela, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 75.3%. The next largest groups are White (19.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Quintela
The surname Quintela is of Spanish origin, specifically from the Galician region of northwestern Spain. It likely emerged in the Middle Ages, around the 11th or 12th century.
Quintela is derived from the Latin word "quintana," which referred to a small farm or country estate. This suggests that the name may have originated as a descriptive name for someone who lived on or worked at such a property.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Quintela can be found in the Tumbo Viejo, an ancient cartulary (collection of charters) from the Galician monastery of San Pedro de Ramire, dating back to the 12th century.
In the 13th century, a nobleman named Pedro Quintela was mentioned in several documents related to land disputes and property transactions in the Galician town of Pontevedra.
During the 15th century, a notable figure was Gonzalo Quintela, a Galician poet and troubadour who composed several cantigas de amigo (lyric poems) in the traditional Galician-Portuguese style.
In the 16th century, a military commander named Juan Quintela fought alongside the Spanish forces during the Italian Wars, participating in the Battle of Pavia in 1525.
Another historical figure was Inés Quintela, a wealthy landowner and benefactor from Santiago de Compostela, who in the 17th century donated a significant portion of her estate to fund the construction of a hospital and convent.
In the 18th century, a prominent Quintela was José Quintela, a Galician lawyer and judge who served as a magistrate in the Royal Audiencia (high court) of Galicia.
Throughout its history, the Quintela surname has also been associated with various place names in the Galician region, such as Quintela de Leirado, Quintela de Humoso, and Quintela de Muíños, which may have served as origins for different branches of the family.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Quintela
Among Census respondents with the surname Quintela, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 75.3%. The next largest groups are White (19.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Quintela 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 Quintela surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino75.3% · 575
- White19.5% · 149
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 21
- Black or African American1.2% · 9
- Two or more races1.2% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Quintela
Quintela 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
#32,268
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 714
+65 bearers (+10.0%)
Per 100,000 0.24
Rank movement Up 938 places
2020
#32,304
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 764
+50 bearers (+7.0%)
Per 100,000 0.26
Rank movement Down 36 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #33,206 | 649 | 0.24 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #32,268 | 714 | 0.24 | +65 bearers (+10.0%) | Up 938 places |
| 2020 | #32,304 | 764 | 0.26 | +50 bearers (+7.0%) | Down 36 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 Quintela 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 | #32,268 | #32,304 | -0.1% |
| Count | 714 | 764 | 7.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.24 | 0.26 | 6.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Quintela bearers went from 714 to 764 (+7.0% change). The surname moved down 36 positions in the national ranking, going from #32,268 to #32,304.
FAQ
Quintela surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Quintela?
Name Census estimates that about 876 living Americans carry the surname Quintela. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 391,272 residents.
How common is Quintela?
Quintela ranks #32,304 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.26 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 764 people with the surname Quintela. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (876), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.26 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.26 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 Quintela.
Has Quintela become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Quintela went from 714 recorded bearers to 764. That is an increase of 50 (+7.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #32,268 to #32,304.
What does the Census say about the background of Quintela?
Among Census respondents with the surname Quintela, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 75.3%. The next largest groups are White (19.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Quintela in the 2020 Census, accounting for 75.3% (575 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Quintela appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (75.3%), White (19.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.7%). 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 Quintela (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 Quintela mean?
A Spanish surname derived from "quinta" meaning a rural house or farmstead. 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 Quintela (0.26 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 are called Quintela?
Want to know how many people have the last name Quintela? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.