2000
#10,964
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,663
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.99
Rare Last name
Reynaga
A Spanish surname derived from the place name Reinaga, likely referring to someone from that location.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,080 Americans carry the last name Reynaga. That puts it at #8,838 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.19 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 84,008 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Reynaga 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
4.1K
1 in 84,008
Census rank
#8,838
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,558 bearers of the surname Reynaga in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.19 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8838th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Reynaga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Black (0.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Reynaga
The surname Reynaga is believed to have originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "reina," meaning "queen," and likely referred to someone who lived or worked on lands owned by the queen or in service to the royal court. The earliest known spelling variations include Reinaga, Reynago, and Reinnaga.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Reynaga name can be found in a 14th-century document from the region of Castile, where a certain Pedro Reynaga was mentioned as a landowner. Another early reference is a 16th-century manuscript from Aragon, which lists a Juan de Reynaga among the local nobility.
As the Spanish empire expanded into the Americas during the 16th and 17th centuries, many Spaniards with the Reynaga surname settled in the colonies, particularly in Mexico and Peru. One notable example is Diego de Reynaga, a conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.
In the 18th century, a prominent figure bearing the Reynaga name was José Antonio de Reynaga, a Spanish military officer and governor of the province of Tucumán in present-day Argentina. He played a significant role in defending the region against indigenous uprisings and fortifying colonial settlements.
Another individual of note is Modesto Reynaga, a 19th-century Mexican politician and journalist who served as a deputy in the Congress of Mexico during the turbulent period of the Mexican-American War in the 1840s. He was an outspoken advocate for Mexican independence and sovereignty.
In more recent history, one of the most famous bearers of the Reynaga surname was Antonio Reynaga, a celebrated Peruvian artist and writer who lived from 1899 to 1969. He was known for his modernist paintings and literary works that explored indigenous themes and cultural identity.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Reynaga
Among Census respondents with the surname Reynaga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Black (0.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Reynaga 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 Reynaga surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.6% · 3,401
- White3.6% · 127
- Black or African American0.3% · 10
- Two or more races0.2% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Reynaga
Reynaga 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
#9,241
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,522
+859 bearers (+32.3%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Up 1,723 places
2020
#8,838
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,558
+36 bearers (+1.0%)
Per 100,000 1.19
Rank movement Up 403 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,964 | 2,663 | 0.99 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,241 | 3,522 | 1.19 | +859 bearers (+32.3%) | Up 1,723 places |
| 2020 | #8,838 | 3,558 | 1.19 | +36 bearers (+1.0%) | Up 403 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 Reynaga 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 | #9,241 | #8,838 | 4.4% |
| Count | 3,522 | 3,558 | 1.0% |
| Per 100K | 1.19 | 1.19 | 0.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Reynaga bearers went from 3,522 to 3,558 (+1.0% change). The surname moved up 403 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,241 to #8,838.
FAQ
Reynaga surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Reynaga?
Name Census estimates that about 4,080 living Americans carry the surname Reynaga. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 84,008 residents.
How common is Reynaga?
Reynaga ranks #8,838 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.19 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 3,558 people with the surname Reynaga. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,080), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.19 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.19 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 Reynaga.
Has Reynaga become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Reynaga went from 3,522 recorded bearers to 3,558. That is an increase of 36 (+1.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #9,241 to #8,838.
What does the Census say about the background of Reynaga?
Among Census respondents with the surname Reynaga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.6%) and Black (0.3%). 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 Reynaga in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.6% (3,401 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Reynaga appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (95.6%), White (3.6%), Black (0.3%). 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 Reynaga (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 Reynaga mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the place name Reinaga, likely referring to someone from that location. 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 Reynaga (1.19 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 Reynaga?
You can see how many people have the last name Reynaga on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.