2000
#5,770
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,498
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.04
Rare Last name
Rego
A Portuguese toponymic surname indicating a person who lived near a stream or irrigation channel.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,833 Americans carry the last name Rego. That puts it at #6,428 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 58,761 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rego 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 Rego with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.8K
1 in 58,761
Census rank
#6,428
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,087 bearers of the surname Rego in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6428th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rego, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rego
The surname Rego originates from Portugal and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Portuguese word "rego," which means a stream or a ditch. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a stream or a ditch.
The earliest known record of the name Rego can be found in the 13th-century Portuguese manuscript, "Livro das Linhagens," which chronicles the genealogies of noble families. The name appears in reference to a family from the region of Beira Alta, in central Portugal.
In the 14th century, the name Rego was associated with the town of Rego, located in the municipality of Celorico da Beira, in the district of Guarda. This town's name is believed to have originated from the same root word as the surname, indicating its connection to a stream or a ditch.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Rego was João Rego, a Portuguese explorer and navigator who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his voyage to India in 1497-1499. Another notable figure was Pedro Rego, a 16th-century Portuguese soldier and administrator who served in Portuguese India.
In the 17th century, the name Rego gained prominence with the birth of Manuel Teixeira de Rego (1623-1697), a Portuguese lawyer and judge who served as the Chancellor of the Kingdom of Portugal. His son, António Teixeira de Rego (1661-1731), was a prominent jurist and legal scholar.
Another notable figure was José da Silva Rego (1870-1931), a Portuguese historian and archivist who made significant contributions to the study of Portuguese colonial history, particularly in Brazil and India.
Throughout its history, the surname Rego has been associated with various noble and influential families in Portugal, reflecting its long-standing presence in the country's cultural and political landscape.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rego
Among Census respondents with the surname Rego, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Rego 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 Rego surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White76.6% · 3,897
- Hispanic or Latino12.7% · 644
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.2% · 316
- Two or more races3.5% · 179
- Black or African American0.7% · 38
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 13
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rego
Rego 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
#6,375
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,342
-156 bearers (-2.8%)
Per 100,000 1.81
Rank movement Down 605 places
2020
#6,428
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,087
-255 bearers (-4.8%)
Per 100,000 1.70
Rank movement Down 53 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,770 | 5,498 | 2.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,375 | 5,342 | 1.81 | -156 bearers (-2.8%) | Down 605 places |
| 2020 | #6,428 | 5,087 | 1.70 | -255 bearers (-4.8%) | Down 53 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 Rego 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 | #6,375 | #6,428 | -0.8% |
| Count | 5,342 | 5,087 | -4.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.81 | 1.70 | -6.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rego bearers went from 5,342 to 5,087 (-4.8% change). The surname moved down 53 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,375 to #6,428.
FAQ
Rego surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rego?
Name Census estimates that about 5,833 living Americans carry the surname Rego. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 58,761 residents.
How common is Rego?
Rego ranks #6,428 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.70 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 5,087 people with the surname Rego. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,833), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.70 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 Rego.
Has Rego become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rego went from 5,342 recorded bearers to 5,087. That is a decrease of 255 (-4.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,375 to #6,428.
What does the Census say about the background of Rego?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rego, the largest self-reported group is White at 76.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (12.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.2%). 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 Rego in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.6% (3,897 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rego appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (76.6%), Hispanic (12.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (6.2%). 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 Rego (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 Rego mean?
A Portuguese toponymic surname indicating a person who lived near a stream or irrigation channel. 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 Rego (1.70 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 Rego?
You can see how common the surname Rego is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.