2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Terceros
A Spanish surname meaning "thirds" or "third persons."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 135 Americans carry the last name Terceros. That puts it at #143,511 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,538,921 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Terceros 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
135
1 in 2,538,921
Census rank
#143,511
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
118
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 118 bearers of the surname Terceros in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 143511th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Terceros, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Terceros
The surname "Terceros" is of Spanish origin, and is believed to have originated in the Iberian Peninsula during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Spanish word "tercero," which means "third." This could suggest that the name was originally given to the third son in a family, or perhaps to someone who lived on a "tercera" or third street.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the "Libro de los Fueros de Castilla," a legal text from the 13th century that contains references to individuals with the surname "Terceros." This indicates that the name was already in use by that time in the region of Castile, in central Spain.
In the 15th century, there are records of a nobleman named Juan Terceros, who held lands in the province of Andalusia, in southern Spain. His family's coat of arms featured three stars, which may have been a reference to the meaning of their surname.
During the Age of Exploration, several individuals named Terceros took part in the Spanish conquest and colonization of the Americas. One notable example is Pedro Terceros, a soldier who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in the early 16th century.
In the 17th century, a prominent figure was Father Alonso Terceros, a Jesuit priest and scholar who taught at the University of Salamanca and wrote several works on theology and philosophy.
Fast-forwarding to the 19th century, a famous bearer of the name was José Terceros, a Bolivian statesman and diplomat who served as the President of Bolivia from 1839 to 1841.
Throughout history, the surname "Terceros" has also been found with variations in spelling, such as "Tercero" and "Terzeros," reflecting regional linguistic differences within the Spanish-speaking world.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Terceros
Among Census respondents with the surname Terceros, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Terceros 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 Terceros surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.6% · 114
- White3.4% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Terceros
Terceros appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#143,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 118
+13 bearers (+12.4%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 11,396 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #143,511 | 118 | 0.04 | +13 bearers (+12.4%) | Up 11,396 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 Terceros 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 | #143,511 | 7.4% |
| Count | 105 | 118 | 12.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -1.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Terceros bearers went from 105 to 118 (+12.4% change). The surname moved up 11,396 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #143,511.
FAQ
Terceros surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Terceros?
Name Census estimates that about 135 living Americans carry the surname Terceros. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,538,921 residents.
How common is Terceros?
Terceros ranks #143,511 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 118 people with the surname Terceros. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (135), 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 Terceros.
Has Terceros become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Terceros went from 105 recorded bearers to 118. That is an increase of 13 (+12.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #143,511.
What does the Census say about the background of Terceros?
Among Census respondents with the surname Terceros, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.6%. The next largest groups are White (3.4%). 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 Terceros in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.6% (114 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Terceros appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (96.6%), White (3.4%). 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 Terceros (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 Terceros mean?
A Spanish surname meaning "thirds" or "third persons." 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 Terceros (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 many people have the last name Terceros?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Terceros, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.