2000
#146,011
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Piedras
A Spanish surname meaning "stones" or "rocks".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 213 Americans carry the last name Piedras. That puts it at #102,982 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.06 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,609,175 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Piedras 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
213
1 in 1,609,175
Census rank
#102,982
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
186
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 186 bearers of the surname Piedras in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.06 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 102982nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Piedras, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 97.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Piedras
The surname Piedras is of Spanish origin, originating during the medieval period in the regions of what is now Spain and Portugal. The name is derived from the Spanish word "piedra," meaning stone or rock, suggesting that the earliest bearers of this name may have lived near a prominent rocky area or worked as stonemasons.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Piedras surname can be found in the 13th century, in the medieval Catalan records of the Crown of Aragon. The name appears as "de Piedras," indicating it was initially a locative surname, denoting one's place of origin or residence.
During the 15th century, the Piedras name gained prominence in the region of Extremadura, located in western Spain. Historical records from this era mention several notable individuals bearing this surname, including Diego de Piedras, a renowned military commander who served under King Ferdinand II of Aragon during the Spanish conquest of Granada in the late 15th century.
In the 16th century, the Piedras surname spread further across the Iberian Peninsula and eventually to the Spanish colonies in the Americas. One notable figure from this period was Juan de Piedras, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to conquer Mexico in the 1520s.
The Piedras surname also has a strong connection to the island of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, off the coast of northwestern Africa. Historical records from the 17th century mention several prominent families bearing this name on the island, including the Piedras Albertos, who were influential landowners and merchants.
In the 19th century, the Piedras surname gained further recognition with the birth of José Piedras y Miravete (1814-1887), a Spanish politician and statesman who served as the Minister of Finance and later as the Prime Minister of Spain during the reign of Queen Isabella II.
Throughout history, other notable individuals with the surname Piedras include Esteban Piedras (1831-1908), a Mexican poet and writer; María Piedras (1864-1936), a Spanish feminist and educator; and Jaime Piedras (1903-1982), a renowned Puerto Rican painter and artist.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Piedras
Among Census respondents with the surname Piedras, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 97.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Piedras 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 Piedras surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.3% · 181
- White1.1% · 2
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 2
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Piedras
Piedras 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
#93,125
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 197
+93 bearers (+89.4%)
Per 100,000 0.07
Rank movement Up 52,886 places
2020
#102,982
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 186
-11 bearers (-5.6%)
Per 100,000 0.06
Rank movement Down 9,857 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #146,011 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #93,125 | 197 | 0.07 | +93 bearers (+89.4%) | Up 52,886 places |
| 2020 | #102,982 | 186 | 0.06 | -11 bearers (-5.6%) | Down 9,857 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 Piedras 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 | #93,125 | #102,982 | -10.6% |
| Count | 197 | 186 | -5.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.07 | 0.06 | -11.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Piedras bearers went from 197 to 186 (-5.6% change). The surname moved down 9,857 positions in the national ranking, going from #93,125 to #102,982.
FAQ
Piedras surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Piedras?
Name Census estimates that about 213 living Americans carry the surname Piedras. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,609,175 residents.
How common is Piedras?
Piedras ranks #102,982 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.06 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 186 people with the surname Piedras. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (213), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.06 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.06 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 Piedras.
Has Piedras become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Piedras went from 197 recorded bearers to 186. That is a decrease of 11 (-5.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #93,125 to #102,982.
What does the Census say about the background of Piedras?
Among Census respondents with the surname Piedras, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 97.3%. The next largest groups are White (1.1%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (1.1%). 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 Piedras in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.3% (181 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Piedras appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (97.3%), White (1.1%), American Indian/Alaska Native (1.1%). 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 Piedras (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 Piedras mean?
A Spanish surname meaning "stones" or "rocks". 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 Piedras (0.06 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 Piedras?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.