2000
#66,676
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 277
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.10
Very Rare Last name
Coyote
A surname referring to the medium-sized wild dog of North America.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 479 Americans carry the last name Coyote. That puts it at #53,424 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 715,562 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Coyote 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
479
1 in 715,562
Census rank
#53,424
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
418
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 418 bearers of the surname Coyote in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 53424th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Coyote, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 65.8%. The next largest groups are White (22.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Coyote
The surname Coyote is of Native American origin, specifically from the Navajo and Apache tribes of the southwestern United States. It emerged in the late 17th century and is derived from the Nahuatl word "coyotl," which refers to the coyote, a canine species native to North America.
The earliest recorded instances of the surname Coyote can be found in Spanish colonial records from New Mexico, where it was often used to identify members of the Navajo and Apache tribes. These records date back to the late 1600s and early 1700s, when the Spanish established settlements and missions in the region.
One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Coyote was Manuelito Coyote, a prominent Navajo leader who lived from 1818 to 1893. He played a significant role in the Navajo Wars against the United States government and was known for his unwavering resistance to the forced relocation of his people.
Another notable figure was Geronimo Coyote, a member of the Apache tribe who lived from 1829 to 1909. He was a respected warrior and leader during the Apache Wars and was known for his strategic brilliance in evading the U.S. Army for many years.
In the late 19th century, the surname Coyote also appeared in records from the Hopi and Zuni tribes of the American Southwest. One notable individual was Tawaquaptewa Coyote, a Hopi leader and religious figure who lived from 1855 to 1936. He played a crucial role in preserving the traditional Hopi way of life and advocating for the rights of his people.
The surname Coyote has also been associated with certain place names in the American Southwest, particularly in areas with strong Native American influences. For example, Coyote Canyon and Coyote Buttes are natural landmarks located in Utah and Arizona, respectively.
While the surname Coyote has its roots in Native American culture, it has since been adopted by individuals of various ethnic backgrounds, particularly in the western United States. Some notable bearers of the name in more recent times include the writer Thomas Coyote (1936-2002) and the artist and activist Charlene Coyote (born 1943).
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Coyote
Among Census respondents with the surname Coyote, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 65.8%. The next largest groups are White (22.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Coyote 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 Coyote surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino65.8% · 275
- White22.0% · 92
- American Indian and Alaska Native8.4% · 35
- Two or more races1.7% · 7
- Black or African American1.2% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Coyote
Coyote 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
#46,404
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 459
+182 bearers (+65.7%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Up 20,272 places
2020
#53,424
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 418
-41 bearers (-8.9%)
Per 100,000 0.14
Rank movement Down 7,020 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #66,676 | 277 | 0.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #46,404 | 459 | 0.16 | +182 bearers (+65.7%) | Up 20,272 places |
| 2020 | #53,424 | 418 | 0.14 | -41 bearers (-8.9%) | Down 7,020 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 Coyote 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 | #46,404 | #53,424 | -15.1% |
| Count | 459 | 418 | -8.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.16 | 0.14 | -12.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Coyote bearers went from 459 to 418 (-8.9% change). The surname moved down 7,020 positions in the national ranking, going from #46,404 to #53,424.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Coyote
FAQ
Coyote surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Coyote?
Name Census estimates that about 479 living Americans carry the surname Coyote. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 715,562 residents.
How common is Coyote?
Coyote ranks #53,424 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.14 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 418 people with the surname Coyote. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (479), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.14 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.14 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Coyote.
Has Coyote become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Coyote went from 459 recorded bearers to 418. That is a decrease of 41 (-8.9%). In the national ranking it fell from #46,404 to #53,424.
What does the Census say about the background of Coyote?
Among Census respondents with the surname Coyote, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 65.8%. The next largest groups are White (22.0%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (8.4%). 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 Coyote in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.8% (275 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Coyote appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (65.8%), White (22.0%), American Indian/Alaska Native (8.4%). 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 Coyote (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 Coyote mean?
A surname referring to the medium-sized wild dog of North America. 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 Coyote (0.14 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 are called Coyote?
Want to know how many people have the surname Coyote? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.