2000
#16,208
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,639
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.61
Rare Last name
Zavaleta
A Basque occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of wooden shoes or clogs, derived from "zabaleta."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 3,509 Americans carry the last name Zavaleta. That puts it at #10,045 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 97,679 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Zavaleta 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
3.5K
1 in 97,679
Census rank
#10,045
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
3.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,060 bearers of the surname Zavaleta in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 10045th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Zavaleta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Black (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Zavaleta
The surname Zavaleta originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to derive from the Basque words "zabal" meaning wide or spacious, and "eta" meaning house or homestead. This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in a large or spacious dwelling.
Early records show the name was particularly prevalent in the northern Spanish regions of Navarre and the Basque Country. Some of the earliest documented examples date back to the 13th century, when it appeared in municipal charters and property deeds.
One of the first known bearers of the Zavaleta name was Juan de Zavaleta, a nobleman from Navarre who lived in the late 14th century. He is mentioned in historical texts as a prominent landowner and military commander during the reign of King Charles III of Navarre.
In the 16th century, the Zavaleta family gained prominence in the city of San Sebastián, located in the Basque region of Gipuzkoa. Notable members included Pedro de Zavaleta, a merchant and ship-owner who was active in the lucrative trade between Spain and the Americas.
As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Zavaleta name spread to various colonies in the New World. One of the earliest recorded instances was Juan de Zavaleta, a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to Mexico in the early 1500s.
In later centuries, other prominent individuals bearing the Zavaleta surname included Miguel de Zavaleta, a scholar and professor at the University of Salamanca in the 17th century, and José María Zavaleta, a military officer and politician who played a role in the Mexican War of Independence in the early 1800s.
While the name has its roots in Spain's Basque region, it eventually spread to other parts of the Iberian Peninsula and beyond, carried by settlers, explorers, and emigrants to the Americas and other Spanish territories across the globe.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Zavaleta
Among Census respondents with the surname Zavaleta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Black (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Zavaleta 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 Zavaleta surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.9% · 2,904
- White4.2% · 128
- Black or African American0.4% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 9
- Two or more races0.3% · 8
Timeline
Historical Census data for Zavaleta
Zavaleta 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
#10,555
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,036
+1,397 bearers (+85.2%)
Per 100,000 1.03
Rank movement Up 5,653 places
2020
#10,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,060
+24 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 1.02
Rank movement Up 510 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #16,208 | 1,639 | 0.61 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #10,555 | 3,036 | 1.03 | +1,397 bearers (+85.2%) | Up 5,653 places |
| 2020 | #10,045 | 3,060 | 1.02 | +24 bearers (+0.8%) | Up 510 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 Zavaleta 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 | #10,555 | #10,045 | 4.8% |
| Count | 3,036 | 3,060 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.03 | 1.02 | -0.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Zavaleta bearers went from 3,036 to 3,060 (+0.8% change). The surname moved up 510 positions in the national ranking, going from #10,555 to #10,045.
FAQ
Zavaleta surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Zavaleta?
Name Census estimates that about 3,509 living Americans carry the surname Zavaleta. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 97,679 residents.
How common is Zavaleta?
Zavaleta ranks #10,045 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.02 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 3,060 people with the surname Zavaleta. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (3,509), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.02 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 Zavaleta.
Has Zavaleta become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Zavaleta went from 3,036 recorded bearers to 3,060. That is an increase of 24 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #10,555 to #10,045.
What does the Census say about the background of Zavaleta?
Among Census respondents with the surname Zavaleta, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.9%. 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 Zavaleta in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (2,904 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Zavaleta appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (94.9%), 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 Zavaleta (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 Zavaleta mean?
A Basque occupational surname referring to a maker or seller of wooden shoes or clogs, derived from "zabaleta." 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 Zavaleta (1.02 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 Zavaleta?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.