2000
#20,763
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,183
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.44
Rare Last name
Villacorta
A surname referring to a small town or village.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,063 Americans carry the last name Villacorta. That puts it at #15,631 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.60 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 166,144 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Villacorta 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
2.1K
1 in 166,144
Census rank
#15,631
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,799 bearers of the surname Villacorta in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.60 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 15631st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Villacorta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.2%) and White (4.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Villacorta
The surname Villacorta is of Spanish origin and dates back to the medieval times. It is derived from the Spanish words "villa" meaning town or village, and "corta" meaning short or small. Together, Villacorta refers to a small town or village.
This surname is believed to have originated in the regions of Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia in Spain, where it was likely used as a descriptive name for someone who lived in or came from a small village. It is also possible that the name was initially given to someone who lived near a small village or town.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Villacorta can be found in a 15th-century document from the city of Toledo, Spain. This document mentions a certain Diego de Villacorta, who was a nobleman and landowner in the region.
In the 16th century, there are records of a Hernán Villacorta, who was a Spanish conquistador and explorer. He was part of the expedition led by Francisco Pizarro that conquered the Inca Empire in Peru in the 1530s.
Another notable person with this surname was Miguel de Villacorta y Rodríguez, who was born in Murcia, Spain in 1593. He was a Spanish military officer and served as the Governor of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1638 to 1643.
In the 18th century, there was a famous Spanish playwright and poet named Gaspar de Villacorta Barranco, who was born in Madrid in 1720 and died in 1798. He is known for his plays and contributions to the Spanish literary scene of that era.
One of the most prominent figures with the surname Villacorta was José María Villacorta Calderón, who was born in Guatemala in 1838 and died in 1890. He was a Guatemalan politician and served as the President of Guatemala from 1865 to 1871.
While the surname Villacorta is predominantly Spanish, it has also spread to other parts of the world, particularly to Latin American countries, due to Spanish colonization and migration. However, its origins can be traced back to the small towns and villages of medieval Spain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Villacorta
Among Census respondents with the surname Villacorta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.2%) and White (4.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Villacorta 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 Villacorta surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino76.4% · 1,375
- Asian and Pacific Islander17.2% · 310
- White4.3% · 78
- Two or more races1.7% · 30
- Black or African American0.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Villacorta
Villacorta 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
#16,437
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,750
+567 bearers (+47.9%)
Per 100,000 0.59
Rank movement Up 4,326 places
2020
#15,631
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,799
+49 bearers (+2.8%)
Per 100,000 0.60
Rank movement Up 806 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #20,763 | 1,183 | 0.44 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #16,437 | 1,750 | 0.59 | +567 bearers (+47.9%) | Up 4,326 places |
| 2020 | #15,631 | 1,799 | 0.60 | +49 bearers (+2.8%) | Up 806 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 Villacorta 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 | #16,437 | #15,631 | 4.9% |
| Count | 1,750 | 1,799 | 2.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.59 | 0.60 | 2.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Villacorta bearers went from 1,750 to 1,799 (+2.8% change). The surname moved up 806 positions in the national ranking, going from #16,437 to #15,631.
FAQ
Villacorta surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Villacorta?
Name Census estimates that about 2,063 living Americans carry the surname Villacorta. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 166,144 residents.
How common is Villacorta?
Villacorta ranks #15,631 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.60 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 1,799 people with the surname Villacorta. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,063), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.6 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.60 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 Villacorta.
Has Villacorta become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Villacorta went from 1,750 recorded bearers to 1,799. That is an increase of 49 (+2.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #16,437 to #15,631.
What does the Census say about the background of Villacorta?
Among Census respondents with the surname Villacorta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 76.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (17.2%) and White (4.3%). 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 Villacorta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 76.4% (1,375 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Villacorta appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (76.4%), Asian/Pacific Islander (17.2%), White (4.3%). 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 Villacorta (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 Villacorta mean?
A surname referring to a small town or village. 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 Villacorta (0.60 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 Villacorta?
Find out how many Americans have the surname Villacorta on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.