2000
#140,756
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Verdu
An occupational surname derived from the French word "verdier," referring to a person in charge of a forest or greenwood.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 171 Americans carry the last name Verdu. That puts it at #121,931 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.05 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,004,411 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Verdu 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
171
1 in 2,004,411
Census rank
#121,931
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
149
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 149 bearers of the surname Verdu in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.05 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 121931st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Verdu, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (40.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Verdu
The surname Verdu is believed to have originated in the Pyrenees region, which straddles the modern-day borders of Spain and France. It first appeared during the late Middle Ages, likely around the 13th or 14th century.
The name is thought to derive from the Occitan or Catalan word "verd," meaning "green" or "verdant." This suggests that the earliest bearers of the name may have lived in particularly lush or fertile areas. Alternatively, it could have been used as a descriptive nickname for someone with green eyes or who frequently wore green clothing.
One of the earliest known references to the Verdu name comes from the village of Verdú in Catalonia, Spain. This town, located in the province of Lleida, likely took its name from the Latinized form "Viridium," meaning "green place." It's possible that the surname originated as a locative name for someone from this specific village.
In 15th century records from the Kingdom of Aragon, the name appears with various spellings such as Verdú, Verdu, and Verdun. During this time, a notable bearer of the name was Jaume Verdu, a merchant and landowner from the city of Valencia who lived from around 1420 to 1489.
Another early example is Gaspar Verdu, a Spanish soldier and explorer who was part of the Narváez expedition to Florida in 1528. He is believed to have been one of the four survivors of this ill-fated journey, which was documented in the famous account "La Relación" by Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca.
In the 17th century, the Verdu name appears in records from the Spanish colonies in the Americas. One notable figure was Juan Verdu, a Spanish settler who established a ranch in what is now the state of Texas in the 1680s.
Moving into the 18th century, there was a French military officer named Jean-Baptiste Verdu who served as a lieutenant general under Napoleon Bonaparte. He was born in 1762 and died in 1831.
Finally, in the 19th century, there was a Spanish painter named José Verdu who was known for his landscapes and portraits. He was born in 1833 in the city of Valencia and died there in 1898.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Verdu
Among Census respondents with the surname Verdu, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (40.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Verdu 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 Verdu surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino59.7% · 89
- White40.3% · 60
Timeline
Historical Census data for Verdu
Verdu 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
#122,314
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 141
+32 bearers (+29.4%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 18,442 places
2020
#121,931
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 149
+8 bearers (+5.7%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 383 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #140,756 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #122,314 | 141 | 0.05 | +32 bearers (+29.4%) | Up 18,442 places |
| 2020 | #121,931 | 149 | 0.05 | +8 bearers (+5.7%) | Up 383 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 Verdu 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 | #122,314 | #121,931 | 0.3% |
| Count | 141 | 149 | 5.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.05 | -0.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Verdu bearers went from 141 to 149 (+5.7% change). The surname moved up 383 positions in the national ranking, going from #122,314 to #121,931.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Verdu
FAQ
Verdu surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Verdu?
Name Census estimates that about 171 living Americans carry the surname Verdu. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,004,411 residents.
How common is Verdu?
Verdu ranks #121,931 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.05 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 149 people with the surname Verdu. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (171), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.05 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.05 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 Verdu.
Has Verdu become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Verdu went from 141 recorded bearers to 149. That is an increase of 8 (+5.7%). In the national ranking it rose from #122,314 to #121,931.
What does the Census say about the background of Verdu?
Among Census respondents with the surname Verdu, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 59.7%. The next largest groups are White (40.3%). 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 Verdu in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.7% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Verdu appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (59.7%), White (40.3%). 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 Verdu (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 Verdu mean?
An occupational surname derived from the French word "verdier," referring to a person in charge of a forest or greenwood. 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 Verdu (0.05 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 Verdu?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.