2000
#1,519
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,685
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.04
Uncommon Last name
Aguilera
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone from any of various places named Aguilera, meaning "eagle nest."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 36,004 Americans carry the last name Aguilera. That puts it at #1,100 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 10.50 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 9,520 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Aguilera 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
36K
1 in 9,520
Census rank
#1,100
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
10.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
31K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 31,397 bearers of the surname Aguilera in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 10.50 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1100th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Aguilera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Aguilera
The surname Aguilera originates from Spain and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish word "águila," meaning "eagle," and the suffix "-era," indicating a place or location. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a place associated with eagles, such as a rocky area where these birds nested or hunted.
Aguilera is a locational surname, meaning it initially identified a person by the place they were from or lived. Many Spanish surnames were derived from place names, reflecting the importance of land ownership and regional identity during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Aguilera surname can be found in the "Libro Becerro," a medieval Spanish manuscript from the 13th century. This document contained records of landowners and noblemen, suggesting that the Aguilera family may have held a prominent position in their local community.
In the 14th century, a man named Pedro Aguilera was mentioned in historical records as a knight who fought alongside King Alfonso XI of Castile during the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.
During the 16th century, the Aguilera surname appeared in various regions of Spain, including Andalusia, Castile, and Aragon. One notable figure from this period was Gaspar Aguilera, a Spanish composer and organist who lived from around 1565 to 1623.
In the 17th century, Pedro de Aguilera y Ayala (1598-1665) was a Spanish military officer and governor of Puerto Rico. He played a significant role in defending the island against attacks by Dutch and English forces.
Another notable individual with the Aguilera surname was Ventura Rodríguez Tizón Aguilera (1717-1785), a renowned Spanish architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Royal Palace of Madrid and the façade of the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande.
As the Spanish Empire expanded across the Americas, the Aguilera surname also spread to various regions, including Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. Over time, variations of the name emerged, such as Aguilar, Aguilar-Aguilera, and Aguilera-Aguilar.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aguilera
Among Census respondents with the surname Aguilera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Aguilera 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 Aguilera surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.1% · 29,540
- White4.5% · 1,424
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 183
- Black or African American0.4% · 119
- Two or more races0.3% · 89
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 42
Timeline
Historical Census data for Aguilera
Aguilera 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
#1,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,581
+9,896 bearers (+45.6%)
Per 100,000 10.71
Rank movement Up 410 places
2020
#1,100
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 31,397
-184 bearers (-0.6%)
Per 100,000 10.50
Rank movement Up 9 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,519 | 21,685 | 8.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,109 | 31,581 | 10.71 | +9,896 bearers (+45.6%) | Up 410 places |
| 2020 | #1,100 | 31,397 | 10.50 | -184 bearers (-0.6%) | Up 9 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 Aguilera 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 | #1,109 | #1,100 | 0.8% |
| Count | 31,581 | 31,397 | -0.6% |
| Per 100K | 10.71 | 10.50 | -1.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Aguilera bearers went from 31,581 to 31,397 (-0.6% change). The surname moved up 9 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,109 to #1,100.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Aguilera
FAQ
Aguilera surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Aguilera?
Name Census estimates that about 36,004 living Americans carry the surname Aguilera. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 9,520 residents.
How common is Aguilera?
Aguilera ranks #1,100 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 10.50 per 100,000 residents, which is about 11 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 31,397 people with the surname Aguilera. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (36,004), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 10.5 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 10.50 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 11 of them to have the surname Aguilera.
Has Aguilera become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Aguilera went from 31,581 recorded bearers to 31,397. That is a decrease of 184 (-0.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #1,109 to #1,100.
What does the Census say about the background of Aguilera?
Among Census respondents with the surname Aguilera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.1%. The next largest groups are White (4.5%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). 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 Aguilera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.1% (29,540 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Aguilera appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (94.1%), White (4.5%), Asian/Pacific Islander (0.6%). 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 Aguilera (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 Aguilera mean?
A Spanish habitational surname referring to someone from any of various places named Aguilera, meaning "eagle nest." 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 Aguilera (10.50 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 have the surname Aguilera?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.