2000
#2,296
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 14,484
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.37
Uncommon Last name
Vallejo
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Vallejo, meaning "little valley".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,787 Americans carry the last name Vallejo. That puts it at #1,856 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.36 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,732 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vallejo 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
22K
1 in 15,732
Census rank
#1,856
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,999 bearers of the surname Vallejo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.36 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1856th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vallejo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vallejo
The surname Vallejo has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the medieval era. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "valle," meaning valley, and the suffix "jo," which indicates a diminutive or a place name. This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived in or near a small valley.
The earliest recorded instances of the Vallejo surname can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries in the regions of Castile and Aragon. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Pedro Vallejo, a knight who fought alongside King Alfonso XI of Castile during the Reconquista, the campaign to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish rule in the 14th century.
In the 15th century, the Vallejo name appeared in the records of the Spanish Inquisition, with Juan Vallejo being one of the notable figures prosecuted for his alleged involvement in heretical activities. This provides insight into the presence of the Vallejo family during this tumultuous period in Spanish history.
As the Spanish Empire expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Vallejo surname spread to the Americas, with many Vallejos settling in various parts of the New World. One notable bearer of this name was Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, a Mexican-American military officer, and politician who played a significant role in the history of California during the Mexican and early American eras. He was born in 1808 and lived until 1890.
Another prominent figure with the Vallejo surname was the Peruvian poet César Vallejo, widely regarded as one of the most influential poets of the 20th century. Born in 1892, Vallejo's works, such as "Los Heraldos Negros" and "Trilce," were instrumental in shaping modern Hispanic poetry. He passed away in 1938.
In the realm of art, the Spanish painter Camilo José Vallejo, born in 1899 and died in 1954, gained recognition for his Cubist and Surrealist works. His paintings, often depicting scenes of daily life in Spain, are part of the collections of several renowned museums worldwide.
While the Vallejo surname has its roots in Spain, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly Latin America and the United States, where it continues to be a prominent Hispanic surname.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vallejo
Among Census respondents with the surname Vallejo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Vallejo 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 Vallejo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino90.9% · 17,268
- White6.1% · 1,152
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 376
- Two or more races0.5% · 91
- Black or African American0.4% · 69
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 43
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vallejo
Vallejo 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
#1,881
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,117
+4,633 bearers (+32.0%)
Per 100,000 6.48
Rank movement Up 415 places
2020
#1,856
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,999
-118 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 6.36
Rank movement Up 25 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,296 | 14,484 | 5.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,881 | 19,117 | 6.48 | +4,633 bearers (+32.0%) | Up 415 places |
| 2020 | #1,856 | 18,999 | 6.36 | -118 bearers (-0.6%) | Up 25 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 Vallejo 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 | #1,881 | #1,856 | 1.3% |
| Count | 19,117 | 18,999 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 6.48 | 6.36 | -1.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vallejo bearers went from 19,117 to 18,999 (-0.6% change). The surname moved up 25 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,881 to #1,856.
FAQ
Vallejo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vallejo?
Name Census estimates that about 21,787 living Americans carry the surname Vallejo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,732 residents.
How common is Vallejo?
Vallejo ranks #1,856 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.36 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,999 people with the surname Vallejo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,787), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.36 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.36 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Vallejo.
Has Vallejo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vallejo went from 19,117 recorded bearers to 18,999. That is a decrease of 118 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,881 to #1,856.
What does the Census say about the background of Vallejo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vallejo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.9%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). 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 Vallejo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.9% (17,268 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vallejo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (90.9%), White (6.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.0%). 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 Vallejo (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 Vallejo mean?
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone from any of the various places named Vallejo, meaning "little valley". 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 Vallejo (6.36 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 Vallejo?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the last name Vallejo on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.