2000
#141,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 108
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Rubalcado
A surname indicating a person from the place called Rubalcado, likely a town or region name.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 136 Americans carry the last name Rubalcado. That puts it at #142,788 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,520,252 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rubalcado 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
136
1 in 2,520,252
Census rank
#142,788
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
119
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 119 bearers of the surname Rubalcado in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142788th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rubalcado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rubalcado
The surname Rubalcado has its origins in the Iberian peninsula during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish words "rubi" meaning ruby and "alcado" meaning elevated or raised, likely referring to a person who lived in an area known for its ruby mines or who worked in the ruby trade.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Rubalcado can be found in the archives of the Kingdom of Aragon in the 13th century, where a merchant named Pedro Rubalcado was mentioned in a trade document from the city of Valencia. This suggests that the name had already been established in the region by that time.
In the 15th century, a family bearing the name Rubalcado was documented as living in the town of Villanueva de la Serena, in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura. This region was known for its ruby deposits, lending further credence to the theory that the name is related to the gemstone industry.
During the 16th century, the Rubalcado name appeared in various records across Spain and the Spanish colonies in the Americas. One notable figure from this period was Juan Rubalcado, a conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 1500s.
In the 17th century, a branch of the Rubalcado family settled in the Viceroyalty of New Granada (present-day Colombia and Panama), where they owned several ruby mines and became influential members of the local society. One of their descendants, María Rubalcado (1675-1742), was a prominent landowner and philanthropist in the city of Cartagena.
Another notable Rubalcado from this era was Alonso Rubalcado (1620-1689), a Spanish painter who was part of the Baroque art movement in Seville. His works can still be seen in various churches and museums in Andalusia.
As the Rubalcado family spread across different regions of Spain and Latin America, variations in the spelling of the name emerged, such as Rubalcabo, Rubialcado, and Rubialcava. However, the core meaning and connection to the ruby trade remained consistent throughout these variations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rubalcado
Among Census respondents with the surname Rubalcado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Rubalcado 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 Rubalcado surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.4% · 110
- White5.0% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 2
- Black or African American0.8% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rubalcado
Rubalcado 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
#126,018
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 136
+28 bearers (+25.9%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 15,770 places
2020
#142,788
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 119
-17 bearers (-12.5%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 16,770 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #141,788 | 108 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #126,018 | 136 | 0.05 | +28 bearers (+25.9%) | Up 15,770 places |
| 2020 | #142,788 | 119 | 0.04 | -17 bearers (-12.5%) | Down 16,770 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 Rubalcado 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 | #126,018 | #142,788 | -13.3% |
| Count | 136 | 119 | -12.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -20.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rubalcado bearers went from 136 to 119 (-12.5% change). The surname moved down 16,770 positions in the national ranking, going from #126,018 to #142,788.
FAQ
Rubalcado surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rubalcado?
Name Census estimates that about 136 living Americans carry the surname Rubalcado. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,520,252 residents.
How common is Rubalcado?
Rubalcado ranks #142,788 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 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 119 people with the surname Rubalcado. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (136), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 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 Rubalcado.
Has Rubalcado become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rubalcado went from 136 recorded bearers to 119. That is a decrease of 17 (-12.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #126,018 to #142,788.
What does the Census say about the background of Rubalcado?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rubalcado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.4%. The next largest groups are White (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Rubalcado in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.4% (110 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rubalcado appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.4%), White (5.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.7%). 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 Rubalcado (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 Rubalcado mean?
A surname indicating a person from the place called Rubalcado, likely a town or region name. 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 Rubalcado (0.04 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 Rubalcado?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how common the surname Rubalcado is at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.