2000
#5,732
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,540
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.05
Rare Last name
Oviedo
A locational surname referring to the city of Oviedo in Asturias, northern Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 9,692 Americans carry the last name Oviedo. That puts it at #4,076 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 2.83 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 35,365 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Oviedo 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
9.7K
1 in 35,365
Census rank
#4,076
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
2.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
8.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 8,452 bearers of the surname Oviedo in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 2.83 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 4076th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Oviedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Oviedo
The surname Oviedo originates from Spain and is believed to have its roots in the Asturian region during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the city of Oviedo, the capital of the Principality of Asturias, which was an important center during the Reconquista period.
The name Oviedo itself comes from the Latin word "Ovetus," which refers to the abundance of sheep in the area. The city was originally known as "Oveto" or "Ovietum" in ancient Roman times, eventually evolving into its current form.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Oviedo can be found in the Cartulario de San Vicente de Oviedo, a collection of documents from the 9th to 13th centuries related to the monastery of San Vicente in Oviedo. This suggests that the surname was already in use during the medieval period.
In the 13th century, a notable figure with the surname Oviedo was Juan Oviedo, a Spanish poet and troubadour who wrote in the Galician-Portuguese language. His works were included in the Cancioneiro da Ajuda, one of the most important collections of medieval Galician-Portuguese poetry.
Another historical figure was Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés (1478-1557), a Spanish historian and writer who served as the Governor of the Indies and chronicled the early Spanish conquest of the Americas. His work, "Historia General y Natural de las Indias," is considered a valuable source of information about the indigenous peoples and natural history of the New World.
In the 16th century, Juan de Oviedo y Baños (1565-1625) was a Spanish painter and architect who worked in Seville and contributed to the construction of several notable buildings, including the Iglesia del Salvador in Seville.
During the 17th century, José de Oviedo y Portal (1670-1738) was a prominent Spanish architect who designed several churches and buildings in Madrid, including the Palacio de Monteleón and the Church of San Ginés.
In more recent times, Juan Oviedo (1905-1988) was a Cuban composer and pianist who made significant contributions to the development of Cuban music, particularly in the genres of son and danzón.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Oviedo
Among Census respondents with the surname Oviedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Oviedo 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 Oviedo surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino93.1% · 7,873
- White5.0% · 419
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 108
- Black or African American0.3% · 29
- Two or more races0.2% · 13
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Oviedo
Oviedo 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
#4,362
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,145
+2,605 bearers (+47.0%)
Per 100,000 2.76
Rank movement Up 1,370 places
2020
#4,076
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 8,452
+307 bearers (+3.8%)
Per 100,000 2.83
Rank movement Up 286 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #5,732 | 5,540 | 2.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #4,362 | 8,145 | 2.76 | +2,605 bearers (+47.0%) | Up 1,370 places |
| 2020 | #4,076 | 8,452 | 2.83 | +307 bearers (+3.8%) | Up 286 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 Oviedo 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 | #4,362 | #4,076 | 6.6% |
| Count | 8,145 | 8,452 | 3.8% |
| Per 100K | 2.76 | 2.83 | 2.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Oviedo bearers went from 8,145 to 8,452 (+3.8% change). The surname moved up 286 positions in the national ranking, going from #4,362 to #4,076.
FAQ
Oviedo surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Oviedo?
Name Census estimates that about 9,692 living Americans carry the surname Oviedo. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 35,365 residents.
How common is Oviedo?
Oviedo ranks #4,076 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 2.83 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 8,452 people with the surname Oviedo. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (9,692), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 2.83 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 2.83 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Oviedo.
Has Oviedo become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Oviedo went from 8,145 recorded bearers to 8,452. That is an increase of 307 (+3.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #4,362 to #4,076.
What does the Census say about the background of Oviedo?
Among Census respondents with the surname Oviedo, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 93.1%. The next largest groups are White (5.0%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%). 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 Oviedo in the 2020 Census, accounting for 93.1% (7,873 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Oviedo appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (93.1%), White (5.0%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.3%). 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 Oviedo (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 Oviedo mean?
A locational surname referring to the city of Oviedo in Asturias, northern Spain. 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 Oviedo (2.83 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 Oviedo?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.