2000
#23,350
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,016
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.38
Rare Last name
Leandro
A Spanish surname derived from the Greek name Leander, meaning "lion man".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,509 Americans carry the last name Leandro. That puts it at #20,396 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 227,140 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Leandro 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
1.5K
1 in 227,140
Census rank
#20,396
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.3K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,316 bearers of the surname Leandro in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 20396th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Leandro, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 55.1%. The next largest groups are White (36.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Leandro
The surname Leandro originated in Italy during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Latin name Leander, which comes from the Greek name Leandros, meaning "lion man" or "man of courage." The name likely emerged from the Greek legend of Hero and Leander, two lovers separated by the Hellespont strait.
Leandro first appeared in written records in Italy as early as the 13th century. Some of the earliest known bearers of this surname were from the regions of Tuscany and Emilia-Romagna. The name was also found in medieval documents from the city of Siena, where variations like Leandri and Leandrio were recorded.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Leandro was Giacomo Leandro, a 14th-century Italian writer and historian from Venice. He is known for his work "Descrittione dell'Italia," a detailed description of the Italian peninsula and its cities.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in the records of the powerful Medici family in Florence. A notable figure from this period was Girolamo Leandro, a humanist scholar and author born in 1475 in Modena.
Another prominent individual with the Leandro surname was Pietro Leandro, a 16th-century Italian painter and architect from Rimini. He is best known for his work on the Tempio Malatestiano, a Renaissance church in Rimini.
In the 17th century, the name Leandro was found in the records of the Republic of Venice. One notable bearer was Gasparo Leandro, a Venetian diplomat and ambassador to various European courts during the early 1600s.
The 18th century brought forth Giambattista Leandro, an Italian playwright and librettist from Naples. He is particularly known for his collaborations with composer Domenico Cimarosa.
As the Leandro surname spread across Italy and beyond, it adopted various regional spellings and variations, such as Leandri, Leandris, and Leandros. However, the core meaning and origins of the name remained rooted in its ancient Greek and Latin roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Leandro
Among Census respondents with the surname Leandro, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 55.1%. The next largest groups are White (36.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Leandro 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 Leandro surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino55.1% · 725
- White36.9% · 486
- Two or more races3.6% · 48
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.0% · 39
- Black or African American1.2% · 16
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Leandro
Leandro 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
#20,348
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,306
+290 bearers (+28.5%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Up 3,002 places
2020
#20,396
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,316
+10 bearers (+0.8%)
Per 100,000 0.44
Rank movement Down 48 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #23,350 | 1,016 | 0.38 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #20,348 | 1,306 | 0.44 | +290 bearers (+28.5%) | Up 3,002 places |
| 2020 | #20,396 | 1,316 | 0.44 | +10 bearers (+0.8%) | Down 48 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 Leandro 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 | #20,348 | #20,396 | -0.2% |
| Count | 1,306 | 1,316 | 0.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.44 | 0.44 | 0.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Leandro bearers went from 1,306 to 1,316 (+0.8% change). The surname moved down 48 positions in the national ranking, going from #20,348 to #20,396.
FAQ
Leandro surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Leandro?
Name Census estimates that about 1,509 living Americans carry the surname Leandro. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 227,140 residents.
How common is Leandro?
Leandro ranks #20,396 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.44 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 1,316 people with the surname Leandro. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,509), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.44 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 Leandro.
Has Leandro become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Leandro went from 1,306 recorded bearers to 1,316. That is an increase of 10 (+0.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #20,348 to #20,396.
What does the Census say about the background of Leandro?
Among Census respondents with the surname Leandro, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 55.1%. The next largest groups are White (36.9%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Leandro in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.1% (725 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Leandro appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (55.1%), White (36.9%), Two or More Races (3.6%). 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 Leandro (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 Leandro mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the Greek name Leander, meaning "lion man". 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 Leandro (0.44 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 Leandro?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Leandro at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.