2000
#41,262
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 498
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.18
Very Rare Last name
Trueba
A surname originating from Spanish and meaning "trumpet" or "trumpeter".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 632 Americans carry the last name Trueba. That puts it at #42,381 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.18 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 542,333 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Trueba 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
632
1 in 542,333
Census rank
#42,381
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
551
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 551 bearers of the surname Trueba in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.18 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 42381st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Trueba, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 81.7%. The next largest groups are White (16.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Trueba
The surname Trueba originated in the northern Spanish region of Cantabria, specifically in the town of Torrelavega, during the early medieval period. It is derived from the Basque word "trueba," meaning "stream" or "creek," suggesting that the name may have initially referred to someone who lived near a stream or waterway.
The earliest known record of the Trueba surname dates back to the 11th century, when it appeared in a monastery's record book in the town of Liébana, located in the eastern part of Cantabria. This document mentioned a person named Gonzalo Trueba, who was likely a landowner or an influential figure in the region.
In the 13th century, the Trueba name was found in several historical documents related to the Cantabrian nobility, indicating that the family had gained prominence and possibly held lands or titles. One notable example is Pedro Trueba, a knight who fought alongside King Alfonso VIII of Castile during the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212.
During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Trueba surname spread beyond Cantabria as members of the family migrated to other parts of Spain, as well as to the Americas during the Spanish colonization. One significant figure from this era was Juan de Trueba, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro in the 1530s.
In the 18th century, Antonio de Trueba y la Quintana (1786-1835) was a notable Spanish writer and poet from Cantabria, known for his works that celebrated the region's folklore and traditions. His literary contributions helped solidify the Trueba name's cultural significance in Spain.
Another influential figure was Telesforo Trueba y Cosío (1799-1835), a politician and lawyer from Santander, Cantabria, who played a role in the drafting of the Spanish Constitution of 1812 during the Cortes de Cádiz.
In the 19th century, Juan de la Cruz Trueba y Cosío (1809-1887) was a prominent Spanish politician and historian who served as the Minister of Public Works and later as the Mayor of Madrid.
The Trueba surname has also been carried by notable individuals in the arts and literature, such as the Spanish novelist and playwright Antonio de Trueba (1819-1889), known for his depictions of rural life in Cantabria, and the Mexican novelist and critic Jorge Arturo Trueba Lawther (1944-2022), who was recognized for his contributions to Latin American literature.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Trueba
Among Census respondents with the surname Trueba, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 81.7%. The next largest groups are White (16.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Trueba 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 Trueba surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino81.7% · 450
- White16.0% · 88
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 3
- Two or more races0.5% · 3
- Black or African American0.2% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Trueba
Trueba 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
#39,352
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 559
+61 bearers (+12.2%)
Per 100,000 0.19
Rank movement Up 1,910 places
2020
#42,381
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 551
-8 bearers (-1.4%)
Per 100,000 0.18
Rank movement Down 3,029 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #41,262 | 498 | 0.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #39,352 | 559 | 0.19 | +61 bearers (+12.2%) | Up 1,910 places |
| 2020 | #42,381 | 551 | 0.18 | -8 bearers (-1.4%) | Down 3,029 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 Trueba 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 | #39,352 | #42,381 | -7.7% |
| Count | 559 | 551 | -1.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.19 | 0.18 | -3.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Trueba bearers went from 559 to 551 (-1.4% change). The surname moved down 3,029 positions in the national ranking, going from #39,352 to #42,381.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Trueba
FAQ
Trueba surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Trueba?
Name Census estimates that about 632 living Americans carry the surname Trueba. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 542,333 residents.
How common is Trueba?
Trueba ranks #42,381 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.18 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 551 people with the surname Trueba. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (632), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.18 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.18 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 Trueba.
Has Trueba become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Trueba went from 559 recorded bearers to 551. That is a decrease of 8 (-1.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #39,352 to #42,381.
What does the Census say about the background of Trueba?
Among Census respondents with the surname Trueba, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 81.7%. The next largest groups are White (16.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.1%). 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 Trueba in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.7% (450 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Trueba appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (81.7%), White (16.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.1%). 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 Trueba (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 Trueba mean?
A surname originating from Spanish and meaning "trumpet" or "trumpeter". 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 Trueba (0.18 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 Trueba?
If you just want to know how many people are called Trueba, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.