2000
#2,440
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,593
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.04
Uncommon Last name
Salcedo
A Spanish habitational surname derived from any of the numerous places named Salcedo, meaning "willow grove."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,155 Americans carry the last name Salcedo. That puts it at #1,910 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.17 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,202 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salcedo 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 Salcedo with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,202
Census rank
#1,910
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,448 bearers of the surname Salcedo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.17 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1910th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salcedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%) and White (4.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salcedo
The surname Salcedo is of Spanish origin, traced back to the medieval period in the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed to have derived from the Basque word "saltze," meaning a willow grove or a willow thicket, suggesting that the name's earliest bearers may have lived near or worked in an area abundant with willows.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías, a 14th-century manuscript that documented noble estates and properties in the Kingdom of Castile. This record mentions individuals with the surname Salcedo as landowners or vassals in various regions of northern Spain.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Salcedo family gained prominence in Galicia, a region in northwestern Spain. Notable figures from this period include Lope García de Salcedo (c. 1450-1520), a military commander who served under the Catholic Monarchs during the Reconquista and the conquest of the Canary Islands.
As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Salcedo name spread across the territories conquered by the Spanish Crown. One prominent figure was Diego de Salcedo (c. 1510-1568), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who played a significant role in the exploration and conquest of Chile.
In the 17th century, Juan de Salcedo (c. 1590-1668) was a Spanish military officer and governor of the Philippines. He is credited with establishing several settlements in the archipelago, including the city of Vigan in the northern Luzon region.
Another notable bearer of the name was Antonio María de Salcedo (1770-1838), a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Puerto Rico from 1824 to 1827.
Over the centuries, the Salcedo surname has been associated with various place names and variations in spelling, such as Salceda, Salcedos, and Salzedo, reflecting regional linguistic influences and transcription practices.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salcedo
Among Census respondents with the surname Salcedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%) and White (4.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Salcedo 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 Salcedo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino88.3% · 16,281
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.6% · 1,031
- White4.8% · 890
- Two or more races0.6% · 118
- Black or African American0.4% · 81
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 47
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salcedo
Salcedo 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
#1,967
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,387
+4,794 bearers (+35.3%)
Per 100,000 6.23
Rank movement Up 473 places
2020
#1,910
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,448
+61 bearers (+0.3%)
Per 100,000 6.17
Rank movement Up 57 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,440 | 13,593 | 5.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,967 | 18,387 | 6.23 | +4,794 bearers (+35.3%) | Up 473 places |
| 2020 | #1,910 | 18,448 | 6.17 | +61 bearers (+0.3%) | Up 57 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 Salcedo 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 | #1,967 | #1,910 | 2.9% |
| Count | 18,387 | 18,448 | 0.3% |
| Per 100K | 6.23 | 6.17 | -0.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salcedo bearers went from 18,387 to 18,448 (+0.3% change). The surname moved up 57 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,967 to #1,910.
FAQ
Salcedo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salcedo?
Name Census estimates that about 21,155 living Americans carry the surname Salcedo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,202 residents.
How common is Salcedo?
Salcedo ranks #1,910 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.17 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,448 people with the surname Salcedo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,155), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.17 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.17 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Salcedo.
Has Salcedo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salcedo went from 18,387 recorded bearers to 18,448. That is an increase of 61 (+0.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,967 to #1,910.
What does the Census say about the background of Salcedo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salcedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%) and White (4.8%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Salcedo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.3% (16,281 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salcedo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (88.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (5.6%), White (4.8%). 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 Salcedo (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 Salcedo mean?
A Spanish habitational surname derived from any of the numerous places named Salcedo, meaning "willow grove." 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 Salcedo (6.17 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 Salcedo?
You can see how many Americans have the surname Salcedo on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.