2000
#11,709
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,454
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.91
Rare Last name
Valtierra
A Spanish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "earth valley" or "land of the valley."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,423 Americans carry the last name Valtierra. That puts it at #10,274 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 100,133 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Valtierra 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
3.4K
1 in 100,133
Census rank
#10,274
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,985 bearers of the surname Valtierra in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10274th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Valtierra, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Black (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Valtierra
The surname Valtierra has its origins in Spain, dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from two Spanish words, "val" meaning valley and "tierra" meaning land or earth. The name likely originated as a topographic surname, referring to someone who lived in or near a valley.
One of the earliest known references to the name Valtierra can be found in the "Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla" (Book of Bequests of Castile), a document from the 14th century that recorded landowners and their properties. This suggests that the name was already in use among the Spanish nobility during that time.
In the 16th century, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, several individuals with the surname Valtierra were recorded as settlers in the New World. One notable example is Juan de Valtierra, a conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 1500s.
Another historical figure bearing the name Valtierra was Pedro Valtierra, a Spanish painter and engraver from the 17th century. He was known for his religious works and contributed to the decoration of several churches in Madrid and Toledo.
In the 18th century, a prominent member of the Valtierra family was José de Valtierra y Barahona (1680-1756), a Spanish military officer who served as the Governor of Cartagena de Indias, a strategic port city in present-day Colombia.
Moving into the 19th century, Mariano Valtierra (1784-1858) was a Mexican politician and military leader who played a role in the Mexican War of Independence against Spain. He served as the Governor of Nuevo León and was a supporter of the federalist movement.
Throughout its history, the surname Valtierra has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Valtierra, a municipality in the province of Navarra, and Valtierra de Albacastro, a village in the province of Cuenca.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Valtierra
Among Census respondents with the surname Valtierra, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Black (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Valtierra 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 Valtierra surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.6% · 2,825
- White4.2% · 124
- Black or African American0.4% · 13
- Two or more races0.4% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Valtierra
Valtierra 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
#9,132
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,576
+1,122 bearers (+45.7%)
Per 100,000 1.21
Rank movement Up 2,577 places
2020
#10,274
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,985
-591 bearers (-16.5%)
Per 100,000 1.00
Rank movement Down 1,142 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,709 | 2,454 | 0.91 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #9,132 | 3,576 | 1.21 | +1,122 bearers (+45.7%) | Up 2,577 places |
| 2020 | #10,274 | 2,985 | 1.00 | -591 bearers (-16.5%) | Down 1,142 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 Valtierra 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 | #9,132 | #10,274 | -12.5% |
| Count | 3,576 | 2,985 | -16.5% |
| Per 100K | 1.21 | 1.00 | -17.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Valtierra bearers went from 3,576 to 2,985 (-16.5% change). The surname moved down 1,142 positions in the national ranking, going from #9,132 to #10,274.
FAQ
Valtierra surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Valtierra?
Name Census estimates that about 3,423 living Americans carry the surname Valtierra. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 100,133 residents.
How common is Valtierra?
Valtierra ranks #10,274 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.00 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,985 people with the surname Valtierra. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,423), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.00 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Valtierra.
Has Valtierra become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Valtierra went from 3,576 recorded bearers to 2,985. That is a decrease of 591 (-16.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #9,132 to #10,274.
What does the Census say about the background of Valtierra?
Among Census respondents with the surname Valtierra, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.6%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Valtierra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.6% (2,825 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Valtierra appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (94.6%), White (4.2%), Black (0.4%). 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 Valtierra (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 Valtierra mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "earth valley" or "land of the 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 Valtierra (1.00 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 Americans have the surname Valtierra?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.