2000
#449
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 66,515
First available Census row
Per 100,000 24.66
Common Last name
Ayala
A Spanish and Sephardic Jewish surname derived from the Spanish word "ayalá," meaning a high, mountainous area or a lookout.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 104,476 Americans carry the last name Ayala. That puts it at #338 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 30.48 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,281 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Ayala 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Ayala with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
104K
1 in 3,281
Census rank
#338
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
30.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
91K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 91,108 bearers of the surname Ayala in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 30.48 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 338th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Ayala, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Black (0.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Ayala
The surname Ayala originated from the Iberian Peninsula during the medieval era. It is a Spanish and Portuguese name that likely derived from the Visigothic personal name Aya, which may have meant "fortunate" or "prosperous".
Ayala was initially a place name referring to a town in the Basque region of northern Spain. Records indicate that the town's name existed as early as the 11th century. It is believed that the surname arose when people began taking on hereditary surnames based on the places they lived or originated from.
One of the earliest known references to the Ayala surname can be found in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript from the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Galicia. It mentions a nobleman named Fernán Pérez de Ayala.
In the 13th century, the Ayala family rose to prominence in the Kingdom of Castile. Garci López de Ayala (1332-1407) was a renowned Spanish scholar, poet, and chronicler who served as a diplomat for King Henry III of Castile.
During the 15th century, Iñigo López de Ayala (1425-1485) was a Spanish military leader and count who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors. He played a crucial role in the conquest of Granada in 1492.
In the 16th century, Juan de Ayala (1545-1607) was a Spanish navigator and cartographer who accompanied Sir Francis Drake on his circumnavigation of the world. He is credited with creating one of the earliest maps of the Pacific Coast of North America.
Another notable figure was Mariano Ayala (1777-1847), a Mexican military officer and politician who fought in the Mexican War of Independence against Spain. He served as the interim president of Mexico in 1837.
The Ayala surname has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly to Latin American countries due to Spanish colonization. It remains a common name in Spain, Portugal, and numerous Spanish-speaking nations.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Ayala
Among Census respondents with the surname Ayala, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Black (0.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Ayala 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 Ayala surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.5% · 85,174
- White4.7% · 4,319
- Black or African American0.7% · 603
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 516
- Two or more races0.3% · 294
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 202
Timeline
Historical Census data for Ayala
Ayala 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
#333
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 92,463
+25,948 bearers (+39.0%)
Per 100,000 31.35
Rank movement Up 116 places
2020
#338
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 91,108
-1,355 bearers (-1.5%)
Per 100,000 30.48
Rank movement Down 5 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #449 | 66,515 | 24.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #333 | 92,463 | 31.35 | +25,948 bearers (+39.0%) | Up 116 places |
| 2020 | #338 | 91,108 | 30.48 | -1,355 bearers (-1.5%) | Down 5 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 Ayala 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 | #333 | #338 | -1.5% |
| Count | 92,463 | 91,108 | -1.5% |
| Per 100K | 31.35 | 30.48 | -2.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Ayala bearers went from 92,463 to 91,108 (-1.5% change). The surname moved down 5 positions in the national ranking, going from #333 to #338.
FAQ
Ayala surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Ayala?
Name Census estimates that about 104,476 living Americans carry the surname Ayala. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,281 residents.
How common is Ayala?
Ayala ranks #338 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 30.48 per 100,000 residents, which is about 30 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 91,108 people with the surname Ayala. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (104,476), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 30.48 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 30.48 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 30 of them to have the surname Ayala.
Has Ayala become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Ayala went from 92,463 recorded bearers to 91,108. That is a decrease of 1,355 (-1.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #333 to #338.
What does the Census say about the background of Ayala?
Among Census respondents with the surname Ayala, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.5%. The next largest groups are White (4.7%) and Black (0.7%). 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 Ayala in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.5% (85,174 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Ayala appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.5%), White (4.7%), Black (0.7%). 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 Ayala (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 Ayala mean?
A Spanish and Sephardic Jewish surname derived from the Spanish word "ayalá," meaning a high, mountainous area or a lookout. 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 Ayala (30.48 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 Americans have the surname Ayala?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.