2000
#31,014
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 708
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.26
Rare Last name
Sermeno
A Spanish surname derived from the word "sermón" meaning "sermon," potentially referring to a preacher or someone associated with the church.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,275 Americans carry the last name Sermeno. That puts it at #23,557 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.37 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 268,827 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sermeno 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
1.3K
1 in 268,827
Census rank
#23,557
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,112 bearers of the surname Sermeno in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.37 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 23557th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sermeno, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sermeno
The surname Sermeno has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the medieval era. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "siermeno," which means "mountaineer" or "person from the mountains." This suggests that the name's earliest bearers likely resided in or originated from mountainous regions of the Iberian Peninsula.
One of the earliest known records of the Sermeno surname can be found in the Becerro de Behetría, a medieval manuscript from the 14th century that documented noble families and landholdings in the Kingdom of Castile. This text mentions a certain Diego Sermeno, who held lands in the region of Trasmiera, near the present-day city of Santander.
Over the centuries, the Sermeno name appeared in various historical documents and records across Spain. In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing this surname was Juan Sermeno, a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to Mexico. Juan Sermeno played a crucial role in the conquest of the Aztec Empire and is mentioned in several accounts of that period.
Another prominent individual with the Sermeno surname was Andrés Sermeno, a 17th-century Spanish painter known for his religious works. Sermeno's paintings can be found in various churches and monasteries throughout Spain, particularly in the regions of Castile and Andalusia.
In the 19th century, a notable figure bearing the Sermeno name was Mariano Sermeno (1815-1877), a Mexican politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the Second Mexican Empire under Emperor Maximilian I.
During the 20th century, one of the most recognized individuals with the Sermeno surname was Francisca Sermeno (1900-1986), a Salvadoran human rights activist and educator. She was a pioneer in promoting education and rights for women and indigenous communities in El Salvador.
While the Sermeno surname has its roots in Spain, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly Latin American countries such as Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador, due to Spanish colonization and migration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sermeno
Among Census respondents with the surname Sermeno, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Sermeno 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 Sermeno surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.0% · 1,034
- White4.3% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.6% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 10
- Two or more races0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sermeno
Sermeno 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
#24,648
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,013
+305 bearers (+43.1%)
Per 100,000 0.34
Rank movement Up 6,366 places
2020
#23,557
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,112
+99 bearers (+9.8%)
Per 100,000 0.37
Rank movement Up 1,091 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #31,014 | 708 | 0.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #24,648 | 1,013 | 0.34 | +305 bearers (+43.1%) | Up 6,366 places |
| 2020 | #23,557 | 1,112 | 0.37 | +99 bearers (+9.8%) | Up 1,091 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 Sermeno 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 | #24,648 | #23,557 | 4.4% |
| Count | 1,013 | 1,112 | 9.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.34 | 0.37 | 9.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sermeno bearers went from 1,013 to 1,112 (+9.8% change). The surname moved up 1,091 positions in the national ranking, going from #24,648 to #23,557.
FAQ
Sermeno surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sermeno?
Name Census estimates that about 1,275 living Americans carry the surname Sermeno. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 268,827 residents.
How common is Sermeno?
Sermeno ranks #23,557 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.37 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 1,112 people with the surname Sermeno. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,275), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.37 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.37 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 Sermeno.
Has Sermeno become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sermeno went from 1,013 recorded bearers to 1,112. That is an increase of 99 (+9.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #24,648 to #23,557.
What does the Census say about the background of Sermeno?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sermeno, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.0%. The next largest groups are White (4.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%). 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 Sermeno in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.0% (1,034 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sermeno appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.0%), White (4.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%). 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 Sermeno (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 Sermeno mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the word "sermón" meaning "sermon," potentially referring to a preacher or someone associated with the church. 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 Sermeno (0.37 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 Sermeno?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Sermeno, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.