2000
#14,581
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,872
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.69
Rare Last name
Rosalez
A Spanish habitational surname derived from any of various places named Rosal or Rosales, referring to a place where roses grow.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,601 Americans carry the last name Rosalez. That puts it at #12,950 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.76 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 131,778 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rosalez 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
2.6K
1 in 131,778
Census rank
#12,950
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,268 bearers of the surname Rosalez in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.76 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12950th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosalez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.9%) and Black (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rosalez
The surname ROSALEZ has its origins in Spain, derived from the Spanish words "rosa" meaning "rose" and "lez" an old Spanish suffix denoting origin or place. It likely originated in the late medieval period, around the 13th or 14th century, when surnames began to become more common in Spain.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name ROSALEZ can be found in the 1352 census records of the city of Seville, where a certain Juan Rosalez is listed as a resident. This suggests the name may have originated in the region of Andalusia in southern Spain, where the rose was a common symbol and motif in art and architecture.
The ROSALEZ surname is also believed to have been associated with certain noble or aristocratic families in Spain, as evidenced by its inclusion in the 1492 book "Libro de Armeria" (Book of Heraldry), which catalogued the coats of arms and lineages of Spanish noble families. One such family, the Rosalez de Salamanca, hailed from the city of Salamanca and can trace their lineage back to the 14th century.
In the 16th century, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the ROSALEZ surname began to spread to the New World. One notable figure from this period was Pedro Rosalez de Balmaceda (1509-1589), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico.
Another prominent individual with the ROSALEZ surname was Juan Rosalez de Velasco (1564-1638), a Spanish soldier and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Panama from 1621 to 1628.
In the 19th century, a notable bearer of the ROSALEZ name was Manuel Rosalez y Buitrago (1801-1878), a Spanish politician and writer who served as a member of the Spanish parliament and authored several works on history and literature.
The ROSALEZ surname can also be found in various forms and spellings throughout history, such as Rozalez, Rozales, and Rosalés, reflecting regional linguistic variations and differences in record-keeping practices.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rosalez
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosalez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.9%) and Black (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Rosalez 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 Rosalez surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino88.4% · 2,005
- White8.9% · 201
- Black or African American1.4% · 31
- Two or more races0.7% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rosalez
Rosalez 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
#13,435
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,268
+396 bearers (+21.2%)
Per 100,000 0.77
Rank movement Up 1,146 places
2020
#12,950
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,268
+0 bearers (+0.0%)
Per 100,000 0.76
Rank movement Up 485 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #14,581 | 1,872 | 0.69 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #13,435 | 2,268 | 0.77 | +396 bearers (+21.2%) | Up 1,146 places |
| 2020 | #12,950 | 2,268 | 0.76 | +0 bearers (+0.0%) | Up 485 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 Rosalez 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 | #13,435 | #12,950 | 3.6% |
| Count | 2,268 | 2,268 | 0.0% |
| Per 100K | 0.77 | 0.76 | -1.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rosalez bearers went from 2,268 to 2,268 (+0.0% change). The surname moved up 485 positions in the national ranking, going from #13,435 to #12,950.
FAQ
Rosalez surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rosalez?
Name Census estimates that about 2,601 living Americans carry the surname Rosalez. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 131,778 residents.
How common is Rosalez?
Rosalez ranks #12,950 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.76 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 2,268 people with the surname Rosalez. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,601), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.76 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.76 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 Rosalez.
Has Rosalez become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rosalez went from 2,268 recorded bearers to 2,268. That is an increase of 0 (+0.0%). In the national ranking it rose from #13,435 to #12,950.
What does the Census say about the background of Rosalez?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rosalez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.4%. The next largest groups are White (8.9%) and Black (1.4%). 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 Rosalez in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.4% (2,005 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rosalez appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (88.4%), White (8.9%), Black (1.4%). 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 Rosalez (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 Rosalez mean?
A Spanish habitational surname derived from any of various places named Rosal or Rosales, referring to a place where roses grow. 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 Rosalez (0.76 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 share the surname Rosalez?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.