2000
#3,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,577
First available Census row
Per 100,000 3.18
Rare Last name
Villareal
A habitational surname indicating someone from any of various towns named Villarreal in Spain, meaning "royal town."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,119 Americans carry the last name Villareal. That puts it at #4,320 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.66 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 37,587 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Villareal 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
9.1K
1 in 37,587
Census rank
#4,320
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 7,952 bearers of the surname Villareal in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.66 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4320th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Villareal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.2%) and White (7.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Villareal
The surname Villareal has its origins in Spain and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish words "villa" meaning town or village, and "real" meaning royal or pertaining to the king. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived in a royal town or village, or perhaps worked in service to the crown.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Villareal can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a census-like document from the 14th century that recorded landowners and their properties in the region of Castile. This text mentions a certain Juan Villareal who owned land in the town of Villareal de Álava.
In the 15th century, there are records of a nobleman named Pedro de Villareal who served as a military commander under King Ferdinand II of Aragon during the Reconquista. He played a key role in the conquest of Granada in 1492, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain.
During the 16th century, the name Villareal appears in various historical documents and manuscripts from Spain, including the works of the famous playwright Lope de Vega, who mentioned a character named Doña María de Villareal in one of his plays.
One notable bearer of the surname was the Spanish explorer and conquistador Hernando de Villareal, who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to conquer Mexico in the early 16th century. He is said to have played a crucial role in the conquest of Tenochtitlán, the capital of the Aztec Empire.
In the 17th century, a man named Francisco de Villareal y Córdoba was a prominent figure in the Spanish colonial administration in the Americas. He served as the governor of Panama and later as the viceroy of Peru from 1655 to 1661.
As the Spanish Empire expanded, the surname Villareal spread to various parts of the Americas, where it has remained a prominent name to this day, particularly in Mexico and other Latin American countries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Villareal
Among Census respondents with the surname Villareal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.2%) and White (7.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Villareal 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 Villareal surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino80.3% · 6,388
- Asian and Pacific Islander10.2% · 813
- White7.3% · 582
- Two or more races1.3% · 102
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 36
- Black or African American0.4% · 31
Timeline
Historical Census data for Villareal
Villareal 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
#3,693
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,614
+1,037 bearers (+12.1%)
Per 100,000 3.26
Rank movement Up 104 places
2020
#4,320
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 7,952
-1,662 bearers (-17.3%)
Per 100,000 2.66
Rank movement Down 627 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #3,797 | 8,577 | 3.18 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,693 | 9,614 | 3.26 | +1,037 bearers (+12.1%) | Up 104 places |
| 2020 | #4,320 | 7,952 | 2.66 | -1,662 bearers (-17.3%) | Down 627 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 Villareal 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 | #3,693 | #4,320 | -17.0% |
| Count | 9,614 | 7,952 | -17.3% |
| Per 100K | 3.26 | 2.66 | -18.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Villareal bearers went from 9,614 to 7,952 (-17.3% change). The surname moved down 627 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,693 to #4,320.
FAQ
Villareal surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Villareal?
Name Census estimates that about 9,119 living Americans carry the surname Villareal. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 37,587 residents.
How common is Villareal?
Villareal ranks #4,320 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.66 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 7,952 people with the surname Villareal. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,119), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.66 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.66 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Villareal.
Has Villareal become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Villareal went from 9,614 recorded bearers to 7,952. That is a decrease of 1,662 (-17.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,693 to #4,320.
What does the Census say about the background of Villareal?
Among Census respondents with the surname Villareal, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 80.3%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (10.2%) and White (7.3%). 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 Villareal in the 2020 Census, accounting for 80.3% (6,388 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Villareal appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (80.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (10.2%), White (7.3%). 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 Villareal (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 Villareal mean?
A habitational surname indicating someone from any of various towns named Villarreal in Spain, meaning "royal town." 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 Villareal (2.66 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 Villareal?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.