2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vallado
A surname of Spanish origin meaning someone from a small valley or ravine.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Vallado. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vallado 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Vallado in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vallado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 74.8%. The next largest groups are White (15.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vallado
The surname Vallado is of Spanish origin, derived from the word "vallado," which means "fenced or walled." It is believed to have originated in the northern regions of Spain, particularly in areas where defensive walls or fences were commonly used for protection.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vallado can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrias, a medieval manuscript dating back to the 13th century, which documented landholdings and taxation in the Kingdom of Castile. This suggests that the name has a long history in Spain, dating back to the Middle Ages.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Juan Vallado was recorded as a military commander during the Reconquista, the campaign to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish rule. His bravery and leadership in battle earned him recognition and likely contributed to the spread of the surname across Spain.
As the Spanish Empire expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Vallado name began to appear in various colonies and territories. For instance, Diego Vallado was a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 1500s, playing a role in the fall of the Aztec Empire.
In the 18th century, a notable figure named Gaspar Vallado y Fernández was a Spanish military engineer who contributed to the construction of fortifications and defensive structures in several Spanish colonies, including Puerto Rico and Florida. His expertise in fortification design likely reflects the origin of the surname.
Another prominent individual with the Vallado surname was María Vallado y Sánchez, a 19th-century Spanish educator and advocate for women's education. She founded several schools for girls and worked tirelessly to promote educational opportunities for women in a time when such efforts were groundbreaking.
While the Vallado surname is predominantly found in Spain and its former colonies, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora. However, its origins can be traced back to the defensive structures and fortifications that were once integral to the protection of Spanish settlements and territories.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vallado
Among Census respondents with the surname Vallado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 74.8%. The next largest groups are White (15.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Vallado 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 Vallado surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino74.8% · 77
- White15.5% · 16
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.9% · 5
- Two or more races2.9% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vallado
Vallado 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
#129,825
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 131
+27 bearers (+26.0%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 16,186 places
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-28 bearers (-21.4%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 24,357 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #129,825 | 131 | 0.04 | +27 bearers (+26.0%) | Up 16,186 places |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -28 bearers (-21.4%) | Down 24,357 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 Vallado 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 | #129,825 | #154,182 | -18.8% |
| Count | 131 | 103 | -21.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vallado bearers went from 131 to 103 (-21.4% change). The surname moved down 24,357 positions in the national ranking, going from #129,825 to #154,182.
FAQ
Vallado surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vallado?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Vallado. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Vallado?
Vallado ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 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 103 people with the surname Vallado. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 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 Vallado.
Has Vallado become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vallado went from 131 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 28 (-21.4%). In the national ranking it fell from #129,825 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Vallado?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vallado, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 74.8%. The next largest groups are White (15.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.9%). 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 Vallado in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.8% (77 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vallado appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (74.8%), White (15.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (4.9%). 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 Vallado (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 Vallado mean?
A surname of Spanish origin meaning someone from a small valley or ravine. 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 Vallado (0.03 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 are called Vallado?
Find out how many people have the surname Vallado on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.