2000
#1,464
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,357
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.29
Uncommon Last name
Saucedo
A Spanish habitational surname derived from the place name Salcedo, meaning "willow grove."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 33,379 Americans carry the last name Saucedo. That puts it at #1,184 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 9.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 10,269 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saucedo 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
33K
1 in 10,269
Census rank
#1,184
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
9.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
29K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 29,108 bearers of the surname Saucedo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 9.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1184th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saucedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.7%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Two or More Races (0.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Saucedo
The surname Saucedo has its origins in Spain, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "sauce," which means "willow tree." This suggests that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a willow grove or worked with willow wood.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a medieval manuscript from the 14th century. This document mentions individuals with the surname Saucedo living in various regions of Castile, such as Valladolid and Segovia.
In the 15th century, the name appears in the records of the Spanish Inquisition, where a certain Juan Saucedo was accused of heresy in 1486. This suggests that the Saucedo family had established roots in Spain by that time.
During the Age of Exploration, some individuals bearing the Saucedo surname participated in the colonization of the Americas. For instance, Pedro Saucedo (1520-1583) was a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico.
Another notable figure was Domingo Saucedo (1568-1641), a Spanish Jesuit priest who worked as a missionary in Paraguay and authored several works on the indigenous languages of the region.
In the 17th century, the Saucedo name can be found in various places across Spain, such as Seville, where a certain Alonso Saucedo (1620-1688) was a prominent merchant and landowner.
As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Saucedo surname spread to different parts of the Americas, including regions like Mexico, where it is still prevalent today. One notable Mexican bearer of the name was José Saucedo (1800-1872), a military officer and politician who served as the governor of the state of Zacatecas.
While the Saucedo surname is primarily associated with Spain and its former colonies, it has also been documented in other parts of the world, likely due to migration patterns. However, the name's roots can be traced back to the Iberian Peninsula and its connection to the willow tree.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saucedo
Among Census respondents with the surname Saucedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.7%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Two or More Races (0.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Saucedo 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 Saucedo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.7% · 27,561
- White4.3% · 1,240
- Two or more races0.3% · 101
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 80
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 71
- Black or African American0.2% · 55
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saucedo
Saucedo 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
#1,157
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 30,374
+8,017 bearers (+35.9%)
Per 100,000 10.30
Rank movement Up 307 places
2020
#1,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 29,108
-1,266 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 9.74
Rank movement Down 27 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,464 | 22,357 | 8.29 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,157 | 30,374 | 10.30 | +8,017 bearers (+35.9%) | Up 307 places |
| 2020 | #1,184 | 29,108 | 9.74 | -1,266 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 27 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 Saucedo 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 | #1,157 | #1,184 | -2.3% |
| Count | 30,374 | 29,108 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 10.30 | 9.74 | -5.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saucedo bearers went from 30,374 to 29,108 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 27 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,157 to #1,184.
FAQ
Saucedo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saucedo?
Name Census estimates that about 33,379 living Americans carry the surname Saucedo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 10,269 residents.
How common is Saucedo?
Saucedo ranks #1,184 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 9.74 per 100,000 residents, which is about 10 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 29,108 people with the surname Saucedo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (33,379), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 9.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 9.74 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 10 of them to have the surname Saucedo.
Has Saucedo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saucedo went from 30,374 recorded bearers to 29,108. That is a decrease of 1,266 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,157 to #1,184.
What does the Census say about the background of Saucedo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saucedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.7%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Two or More Races (0.3%). 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 Saucedo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.7% (27,561 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saucedo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (94.7%), White (4.3%), Two or More Races (0.3%). 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 Saucedo (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 Saucedo mean?
A Spanish habitational surname derived from the place name 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 Saucedo (9.74 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 have the surname Saucedo?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.