2000
#10,494
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,808
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.04
Rare Last name
Zamorano
Derived from a place name referring to a person from the town of Zamora in northwestern Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,372 Americans carry the last name Zamorano. That puts it at #8,312 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.28 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 78,398 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zamorano 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
4.4K
1 in 78,398
Census rank
#8,312
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.8K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,813 bearers of the surname Zamorano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.28 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8312th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zamorano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zamorano
The surname Zamorano is of Spanish origin, derived from the region of Zamora, a city in the northwest of Spain. The name likely emerged during the medieval period, when surnames became more commonly adopted by families across Europe.
Zamora was an important center during the Reconquista, the period of Christian conquest over Moorish territories in the Iberian Peninsula. The city's strategic location along the Duero River made it a valuable military and economic hub. It is believed that the surname Zamorano originated as a toponymic name, referring to individuals who hailed from or resided in Zamora.
One of the earliest known references to the surname Zamorano can be found in the "Libro de la Montería" (Book of the Hunt), a 14th-century manuscript detailing hunting practices during the reign of King Alfonso XI of Castile. The text mentions a certain "Iuan Zamorano," indicating the presence of this surname in the region at that time.
In the 15th century, Pedro Zamorano was a notable figure in the court of Queen Isabella of Castile and King Ferdinand of Aragon. He served as a secretary and advisor to the monarchs, playing a role in the unification of Spain and the establishment of the Spanish Inquisition.
During the Age of Exploration, the Zamorano name spread across the Spanish Empire as conquistadors and settlers ventured to the Americas. Juan Zamorano, born in 1499, was a Spanish navigator and cartographer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to Mexico in the early 16th century.
Another notable figure was Rodrigo Zamorano, a Spanish priest and scholar born in 1542. He served as a professor of theology at the University of Salamanca and contributed to the development of scholastic thought in the Renaissance era.
In the realm of literature, Agustín Zamorano was a renowned Spanish playwright and poet of the 17th century. Born in 1590, he authored several works that reflected the cultural and social climate of the Golden Age of Spanish literature.
As the centuries passed, the Zamorano surname continued to be carried by individuals of Spanish descent, both in Europe and the Americas, where it found roots in countries like Mexico, Argentina, and Chile.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zamorano
Among Census respondents with the surname Zamorano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Zamorano 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 Zamorano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.9% · 3,582
- White4.6% · 175
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 16
- Two or more races0.4% · 14
- Black or African American0.2% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zamorano
Zamorano 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
#8,419
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,926
+1,118 bearers (+39.8%)
Per 100,000 1.33
Rank movement Up 2,075 places
2020
#8,312
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,813
-113 bearers (-2.9%)
Per 100,000 1.28
Rank movement Up 107 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,494 | 2,808 | 1.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #8,419 | 3,926 | 1.33 | +1,118 bearers (+39.8%) | Up 2,075 places |
| 2020 | #8,312 | 3,813 | 1.28 | -113 bearers (-2.9%) | Up 107 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 Zamorano 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 | #8,419 | #8,312 | 1.3% |
| Count | 3,926 | 3,813 | -2.9% |
| Per 100K | 1.33 | 1.28 | -4.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zamorano bearers went from 3,926 to 3,813 (-2.9% change). The surname moved up 107 positions in the national ranking, going from #8,419 to #8,312.
FAQ
Zamorano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zamorano?
Name Census estimates that about 4,372 living Americans carry the surname Zamorano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 78,398 residents.
How common is Zamorano?
Zamorano ranks #8,312 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.28 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 3,813 people with the surname Zamorano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,372), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.28 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.28 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 Zamorano.
Has Zamorano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zamorano went from 3,926 recorded bearers to 3,813. That is a decrease of 113 (-2.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #8,419 to #8,312.
What does the Census say about the background of Zamorano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zamorano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.6%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). 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 Zamorano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.9% (3,582 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zamorano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.9%), White (4.6%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.5%). 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 Zamorano (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 Zamorano mean?
Derived from a place name referring to a person from the town of Zamora in northwestern Spain. 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 Zamorano (1.28 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 common is the surname Zamorano?
See how many Americans have the surname Zamorano on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.