2000
#283
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 98,610
First available Census row
Per 100,000 36.55
Common Last name
Valdez
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Valdez or Valdés.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 140,407 Americans carry the last name Valdez. That puts it at #250 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 40.96 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,441 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Valdez 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 Valdez with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
140K
1 in 2,441
Census rank
#250
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
41.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
122K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 122,442 bearers of the surname Valdez in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 40.96 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 250th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Valdez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.5%. The next largest groups are White (6.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Valdez
The surname Valdez has its origins in Spain and is derived from the Spanish words "val" meaning valley and "dez", a patronymic suffix indicating "son of". It was likely first used as a descriptive name for someone who lived in or came from a particular valley.
The name can be traced back to medieval times in Spain, with early records showing variations such as Valdés and Valdes. It is possible that the name may have been mentioned in the Repartimiento de Sevilla, a 13th-century document detailing the distribution of land and property in Seville after the Christian conquest.
One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Diego Garcia de Valdés, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the 16th century. Another notable figure was Juan de Valdés (c.1500-1541), a Spanish religious writer and early Protestant reformer.
The Valdez surname later spread to Spanish colonies in the Americas, particularly Mexico and areas of the southwestern United States. It is believed that some of the earliest Valdez families in the New World settled in what is now New Mexico in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
Over time, the name has become associated with various place names, such as Valdez, Alaska, and Valdez, Venezuela. Some notable individuals with the Valdez surname include Diego Valdez (1778-1866), a Mexican military officer and politician, and Benigno Valdez (1921-2008), a Mexican artist known for his murals and paintings.
Other historical figures bearing the Valdez name include Luis Valdez (born 1940), an American playwright, actor, and filmmaker known for his work in Chicano theater, and Adrián Valdez (1906-1989), a Mexican composer and conductor. Additionally, Pedro Valdez (1923-2013) was a Mexican bullfighter who achieved significant fame in his career.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Valdez
Among Census respondents with the surname Valdez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.5%. The next largest groups are White (6.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Valdez 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 Valdez surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.5% · 107,098
- White6.7% · 8,194
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.8% · 4,635
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 916
- Two or more races0.7% · 910
- Black or African American0.6% · 689
Timeline
Historical Census data for Valdez
Valdez 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
#244
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 124,995
+26,385 bearers (+26.8%)
Per 100,000 42.37
Rank movement Up 39 places
2020
#250
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122,442
-2,553 bearers (-2.0%)
Per 100,000 40.96
Rank movement Down 6 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #283 | 98,610 | 36.55 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #244 | 124,995 | 42.37 | +26,385 bearers (+26.8%) | Up 39 places |
| 2020 | #250 | 122,442 | 40.96 | -2,553 bearers (-2.0%) | Down 6 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 Valdez 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 | #244 | #250 | -2.5% |
| Count | 124,995 | 122,442 | -2.0% |
| Per 100K | 42.37 | 40.96 | -3.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Valdez bearers went from 124,995 to 122,442 (-2.0% change). The surname moved down 6 positions in the national ranking, going from #244 to #250.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Valdez
FAQ
Valdez surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Valdez?
Name Census estimates that about 140,407 living Americans carry the surname Valdez. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,441 residents.
How common is Valdez?
Valdez ranks #250 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 40.96 per 100,000 residents, which is about 41 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 122,442 people with the surname Valdez. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (140,407), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 40.96 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 40.96 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 41 of them to have the surname Valdez.
Has Valdez become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Valdez went from 124,995 recorded bearers to 122,442. That is a decrease of 2,553 (-2.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #244 to #250.
What does the Census say about the background of Valdez?
Among Census respondents with the surname Valdez, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 87.5%. The next largest groups are White (6.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%). 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 Valdez in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.5% (107,098 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Valdez appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (87.5%), White (6.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.8%). 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 Valdez (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 Valdez mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Valdez or Valdés. 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 Valdez (40.96 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 share the surname Valdez?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.