2000
#147,095
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Salamacha
A surname possibly derived from the Spanish "salamanquesa" meaning a type of lizard.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 128 Americans carry the last name Salamacha. That puts it at #147,954 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,677,768 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salamacha 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
128
1 in 2,677,768
Census rank
#147,954
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
112
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 112 bearers of the surname Salamacha in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 147954th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salamacha, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salamacha
The surname Salamacha has its origins in the Mediterranean region, specifically in the areas that are now modern-day Greece and Turkey. It is believed to have emerged sometime around the 15th century CE, during the latter stages of the Byzantine Empire.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Salamacha can be found in a manuscript from the city of Thessaloniki, dated to the year 1472. This document, which was a record of land ownership, mentions a certain Georgios Salamacha as a landowner in the region.
The name Salamacha is thought to be derived from the Greek word "salamandra," which means salamander. This could suggest that the original bearer of the name may have had some connection to these amphibians, either through occupation or perhaps even as a nickname.
In the 16th century, there are records of a family by the name of Salamacha residing in the town of Smyrna (modern-day Izmir, Turkey). Notable members of this family include Konstantinos Salamacha (1528-1599), a merchant who traded extensively with Venice, and his son, Ioannis Salamacha (1560-1627), who served as a diplomat for the Ottoman Empire.
As the Ottoman Empire expanded its influence across the Mediterranean, the Salamacha name spread to other regions. In the early 17th century, a man named Petros Salamacha (1590-1663) is recorded as having settled in the island of Crete, where he worked as a fisherman.
Another notable figure with the surname Salamacha was Alexandros Salamacha (1735-1802), a Greek scholar and philosopher who lived in the city of Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul). He was known for his works on ancient Greek philosophy and his contributions to the preservation of classical Greek texts.
In the 19th century, a branch of the Salamacha family can be traced to the Ionian Islands, which were then under Venetian rule. Georgios Salamacha (1810-1892), a merchant from the island of Kefalonia, established trade routes between the Ionian Islands and Italy, helping to facilitate the exchange of goods and ideas.
While the surname Salamacha is not as common today as it once was, it remains a part of the rich cultural tapestry of the Mediterranean region, carrying with it the echoes of a long and storied history.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salamacha
Among Census respondents with the surname Salamacha, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Salamacha 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 Salamacha surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White94.6% · 106
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 3
- Two or more races1.8% · 2
- Black or African American0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salamacha
Salamacha 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
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
+2 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 7,812 places
2020
#147,954
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 112
+7 bearers (+6.7%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,953 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #147,095 | 103 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | +2 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 7,812 places |
| 2020 | #147,954 | 112 | 0.04 | +7 bearers (+6.7%) | Up 6,953 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 Salamacha 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 | #154,907 | #147,954 | 4.5% |
| Count | 105 | 112 | 6.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -6.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salamacha bearers went from 105 to 112 (+6.7% change). The surname moved up 6,953 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #147,954.
FAQ
Salamacha surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salamacha?
Name Census estimates that about 128 living Americans carry the surname Salamacha. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,677,768 residents.
How common is Salamacha?
Salamacha ranks #147,954 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 112 people with the surname Salamacha. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (128), 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 Salamacha.
Has Salamacha become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salamacha went from 105 recorded bearers to 112. That is an increase of 7 (+6.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #147,954.
What does the Census say about the background of Salamacha?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salamacha, the largest self-reported group is White at 94.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (2.7%) and Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Salamacha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salamacha appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (94.6%), Hispanic (2.7%), Two or More Races (1.8%). 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 Salamacha (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 Salamacha mean?
A surname possibly derived from the Spanish "salamanquesa" meaning a type of lizard. 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 Salamacha (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 common is the surname Salamacha?
Want to know how many people have the surname Salamacha? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.