2000
#1,012
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,627
First available Census row
Per 100,000 11.72
Uncommon Last name
Salgado
A Portuguese and Spanish occupational surname referring to a gatherer or seller of salt.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 50,303 Americans carry the last name Salgado. That puts it at #771 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 14.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 6,814 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Salgado 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 Salgado with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
50K
1 in 6,814
Census rank
#771
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
14.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
44K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 43,867 bearers of the surname Salgado in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 14.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 771st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Salgado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Salgado
The surname Salgado originated in Portugal and Spain during the medieval era. It is derived from the Portuguese word "salgado," meaning salted or salty, which likely referred to someone who worked with salt or lived near salt marshes or salt mines.
In its earliest recorded use, the name appeared in the "Livro de Linhagens" (Book of Lineages), a 14th-century Portuguese manuscript documenting noble families. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was João Salgado, a Portuguese nobleman born in the late 13th century.
The name Salgado can also be traced back to various place names in Portugal and Spain, such as Salgadelos, a parish in the municipality of Barcelos, Portugal, and Salgado, a municipality in the province of Zamora, Spain. These place names likely influenced the adoption and spread of the surname.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Salgado. One such person was Pedro Salgado (1575-1626), a Spanish composer and organist who served at the court of King Philip III of Spain. Another notable figure was Sebastián Salgado (1713-1790), a Spanish Jesuit missionary and explorer who traveled extensively in South America and wrote about the indigenous peoples of the region.
In the 19th century, Plácido Salgado (1841-1915) was a Brazilian politician and journalist who played a significant role in the abolitionist movement and the establishment of the Brazilian Republic. Another notable bearer of the name was Sebastião Salgado (born 1944), a Brazilian photojournalist and social documentary photographer known for his powerful black-and-white photographs depicting the struggles and resilience of people around the world.
In more recent times, Adriana Salgado (born 1962) is a Brazilian businesswoman and philanthropist who has been involved in various social and environmental initiatives. Additionally, Javier Salgado (born 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who has played for several clubs in Spain and abroad.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Salgado
Among Census respondents with the surname Salgado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Salgado 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 Salgado surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.0% · 40,810
- White4.5% · 1,983
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 596
- Black or African American0.4% · 189
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 145
- Two or more races0.3% · 144
Timeline
Historical Census data for Salgado
Salgado 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
#759
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 45,469
+13,842 bearers (+43.8%)
Per 100,000 15.41
Rank movement Up 253 places
2020
#771
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 43,867
-1,602 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 14.68
Rank movement Down 12 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,012 | 31,627 | 11.72 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #759 | 45,469 | 15.41 | +13,842 bearers (+43.8%) | Up 253 places |
| 2020 | #771 | 43,867 | 14.68 | -1,602 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 12 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 Salgado 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 | #759 | #771 | -1.6% |
| Count | 45,469 | 43,867 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 15.41 | 14.68 | -4.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Salgado bearers went from 45,469 to 43,867 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 12 positions in the national ranking, going from #759 to #771.
FAQ
Salgado surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Salgado?
Name Census estimates that about 50,303 living Americans carry the surname Salgado. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 6,814 residents.
How common is Salgado?
Salgado ranks #771 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 14.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 15 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 43,867 people with the surname Salgado. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (50,303), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 14.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 14.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 15 of them to have the surname Salgado.
Has Salgado become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Salgado went from 45,469 recorded bearers to 43,867. That is a decrease of 1,602 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #759 to #771.
What does the Census say about the background of Salgado?
Among Census respondents with the surname Salgado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Salgado in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (40,810 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Salgado appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.0%), White (4.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Salgado (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 Salgado mean?
A Portuguese and Spanish occupational surname referring to a gatherer or seller of salt. 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 Salgado (14.68 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 Salgado?
If you just want to know how many people have the last name Salgado, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.