2000
#744
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 42,139
First available Census row
Per 100,000 15.62
Uncommon Last name
Rocha
A Portuguese and Galician topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a rock or rocky place.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 61,767 Americans carry the last name Rocha. That puts it at #612 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 18.02 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 5,549 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Rocha 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.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Rocha with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
62K
1 in 5,549
Census rank
#612
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
18.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
54K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 53,864 bearers of the surname Rocha in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 18.02 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 612th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Rocha, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 79.2%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Black (1.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Rocha
The surname Rocha is of Portuguese origin, deriving from the Portuguese word "rocha," which means "rock" or "crag." This surname is believed to have originated in the 12th or 13th century, likely as a descriptive name for someone who lived near a prominent rock formation or in a rocky area.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Rocha can be found in various medieval documents and records from Portugal. One notable example is Pedro da Rocha, a Portuguese explorer who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his famous voyage to India in 1497-1499.
Another historical figure bearing the surname Rocha was Diogo da Rocha, a Portuguese soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of Brazil in the early 16th century. He was one of the first Europeans to explore and map the coastline of what is now the state of Rio de Janeiro.
In the 18th century, Joaquim da Rocha was a prominent Brazilian architect and engineer known for his work on churches, fortifications, and public buildings in Rio de Janeiro and other parts of Brazil.
The name Rocha has also been associated with several notable writers and artists throughout history. For instance, Augusto da Rocha (1810-1884) was a Brazilian poet and playwright, while Andrés de la Rocha (1562-1628) was a Spanish painter known for his religious works.
Another important figure with the surname Rocha was Marcelo da Rocha (1886-1937), a Brazilian lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice in the late 1920s and played a significant role in the country's political affairs during that time.
Over the centuries, the surname Rocha has spread beyond Portugal and Brazil to other parts of the world, carried by immigrants and descendants of Portuguese and Brazilian families. While the name remains most prevalent in these regions, it can also be found in various Spanish-speaking countries, as well as in other parts of Europe and the Americas.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Rocha
Among Census respondents with the surname Rocha, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 79.2%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Black (1.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Rocha 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 Rocha surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino79.2% · 42,642
- White17.4% · 9,394
- Black or African American1.2% · 626
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 477
- Two or more races0.9% · 458
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 267
Timeline
Historical Census data for Rocha
Rocha 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
#613
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,251
+13,112 bearers (+31.1%)
Per 100,000 18.73
Rank movement Up 131 places
2020
#612
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 53,864
-1,387 bearers (-2.5%)
Per 100,000 18.02
Rank movement Up 1 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #744 | 42,139 | 15.62 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #613 | 55,251 | 18.73 | +13,112 bearers (+31.1%) | Up 131 places |
| 2020 | #612 | 53,864 | 18.02 | -1,387 bearers (-2.5%) | Up 1 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 Rocha 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 | #613 | #612 | 0.2% |
| Count | 55,251 | 53,864 | -2.5% |
| Per 100K | 18.73 | 18.02 | -3.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Rocha bearers went from 55,251 to 53,864 (-2.5% change). The surname moved up 1 positions in the national ranking, going from #613 to #612.
FAQ
Rocha surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Rocha?
Name Census estimates that about 61,767 living Americans carry the surname Rocha. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 5,549 residents.
How common is Rocha?
Rocha ranks #612 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 18.02 per 100,000 residents, which is about 18 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 53,864 people with the surname Rocha. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (61,767), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 18.02 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 18.02 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 18 of them to have the surname Rocha.
Has Rocha become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Rocha went from 55,251 recorded bearers to 53,864. That is a decrease of 1,387 (-2.5%). In the national ranking it rose from #613 to #612.
What does the Census say about the background of Rocha?
Among Census respondents with the surname Rocha, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 79.2%. The next largest groups are White (17.4%) and Black (1.2%). 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 Rocha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.2% (42,642 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Rocha appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (79.2%), White (17.4%), Black (1.2%). 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 Rocha (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 Rocha mean?
A Portuguese and Galician topographic surname referring to someone who lived near a rock or rocky place. 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 Rocha (18.02 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 have the last name Rocha?
Want to know how many people have the surname Rocha? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.