2000
#5,622
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,662
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.10
Rare Last name
Borrego
A Spanish surname referring to a shepherd or one who tends to lambs.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 7,614 Americans carry the last name Borrego. That puts it at #5,109 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 45,016 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Borrego 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
7.6K
1 in 45,016
Census rank
#5,109
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
6.6K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 6,640 bearers of the surname Borrego in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 5109th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Borrego, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.2%. The next largest groups are White (8.4%) and Two or More Races (0.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Borrego
The surname Borrego is of Spanish origin, deriving from the Spanish word "borrego," which means a young lamb or sheep. This name likely originated in Spain during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions known for sheep farming and wool production.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Borrego surname can be found in the Catalonian region of Spain, where it appeared in the early 14th century. The name may have been initially used as a descriptive nickname for someone who worked with sheep or had a resemblance to a lamb.
In the 16th century, records show the presence of the Borrego family in various parts of Spain, including Andalusia and Extremadura. During this period, the name was sometimes spelled as "Borrego" or "Borrejo," reflecting regional variations in pronunciation and spelling.
The Borrego surname has also been associated with certain place names in Spain, such as Borrego, a municipality in the province of Cádiz, and Borregos, a town in the province of Salamanca. These place names likely derived from the same root word, "borrego," indicating the presence of sheep or shepherds in those areas.
Among notable individuals with the Borrego surname throughout history, one can mention:
1. Pedro Borrego (c. 1500-1570), a Spanish painter and sculptor active during the Renaissance period.
2. Juan Borrego (c. 1570-1640), a Spanish military officer who participated in the Thirty Years' War.
3. María Borrego (1792-1860), a Spanish writer and feminist known for her advocacy of women's rights.
4. José Borrego (1820-1890), a Spanish journalist and politician who founded the newspaper "El Español."
5. Antonio Borrego (1901-1975), a Spanish artist known for his landscapes and still-life paintings.
While the Borrego surname has its roots in Spain, it has since spread to other parts of the world, including Latin American countries and regions with Spanish colonial influence, such as Mexico, Cuba, and parts of the United States.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Borrego
Among Census respondents with the surname Borrego, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.2%. The next largest groups are White (8.4%) and Two or More Races (0.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Borrego 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 Borrego surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino90.2% · 5,988
- White8.4% · 561
- Two or more races0.5% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 24
- Black or African American0.3% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Borrego
Borrego 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
#5,167
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,772
+1,110 bearers (+19.6%)
Per 100,000 2.30
Rank movement Up 455 places
2020
#5,109
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,640
-132 bearers (-1.9%)
Per 100,000 2.22
Rank movement Up 58 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,622 | 5,662 | 2.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #5,167 | 6,772 | 2.30 | +1,110 bearers (+19.6%) | Up 455 places |
| 2020 | #5,109 | 6,640 | 2.22 | -132 bearers (-1.9%) | Up 58 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 Borrego 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 | #5,167 | #5,109 | 1.1% |
| Count | 6,772 | 6,640 | -1.9% |
| Per 100K | 2.30 | 2.22 | -3.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Borrego bearers went from 6,772 to 6,640 (-1.9% change). The surname moved up 58 positions in the national ranking, going from #5,167 to #5,109.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Borrego
FAQ
Borrego surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Borrego?
Name Census estimates that about 7,614 living Americans carry the surname Borrego. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 45,016 residents.
How common is Borrego?
Borrego ranks #5,109 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.22 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 6,640 people with the surname Borrego. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (7,614), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.22 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Borrego.
Has Borrego become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Borrego went from 6,772 recorded bearers to 6,640. That is a decrease of 132 (-1.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #5,167 to #5,109.
What does the Census say about the background of Borrego?
Among Census respondents with the surname Borrego, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 90.2%. The next largest groups are White (8.4%) and Two or More Races (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 Borrego in the 2020 Census, accounting for 90.2% (5,988 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Borrego appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (90.2%), White (8.4%), Two or More Races (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 Borrego (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 Borrego mean?
A Spanish surname referring to a shepherd or one who tends to lambs. 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 Borrego (2.22 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 Borrego?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.