2000
#154
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 153,772
First available Census row
Per 100,000 57.00
Common Last name
Romero
A Spanish toponymic surname indicating someone from a place abundant with rosemary plants or where pilgrimages to Rome began.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 238,595 Americans carry the last name Romero. That puts it at #113 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 69.61 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 1,437 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Romero 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 Romero with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
239K
1 in 1,437
Census rank
#113
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
69.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
208K
common in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 208,066 bearers of the surname Romero in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 69.61 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 113th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Romero, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.1%. The next largest groups are White (8.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Romero
The surname Romero is of Spanish origin, derived from the Latin word "romarius," meaning a pilgrim to Rome. It dates back to the Middle Ages when many Spaniards undertook pilgrimages to Rome, and those who made the journey were called "romeros."
The earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the 13th century in regions of Spain such as Castile, Andalusia, and Aragon. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sancho Romero, a nobleman and military commander who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors in the late 12th century.
The Romero name is also associated with several place names in Spain, such as Romero de Torres in Badajoz, and Romero de Arriba in Soria. These places likely derived their names from early settlers with the surname Romero.
In the 15th century, the Romero family gained prominence in Seville, where they were involved in the Spanish Inquisition. One notable figure was Fray Tomás de Romero, a Dominican friar who served as an Inquisitor in Seville from 1498 to 1528.
Another prominent bearer of the name was Juan Romero, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. Romero played a crucial role in the Battle of Otumba in 1520, helping to ensure the Spanish victory.
In the 17th century, the Romero name appeared in various literary works, such as the plays of Lope de Vega and the poetry of Francisco de Quevedo. One notable figure from this period was Jerónimo Romero de Ávila, a Spanish painter and engraver active in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.
In the 19th century, the Romero name gained further recognition with the birth of Matías Romero (1837-1898), a Mexican diplomat and politician who served as Mexico's Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs.
Throughout history, the Romero surname has been carried by numerous other notable individuals, including César Romero (1907-1994), an American actor best known for his portrayal of the Joker in the 1960s Batman TV series, and Cesar Romero (1907-1994), a Cuban-American singer and actor.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Romero
Among Census respondents with the surname Romero, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.1%. The next largest groups are White (8.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Romero 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 Romero surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino88.1% · 183,221
- White8.6% · 17,798
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.5% · 3,171
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 1,535
- Two or more races0.6% · 1,198
- Black or African American0.5% · 1,143
Timeline
Historical Census data for Romero
Romero 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
#115
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 208,614
+54,842 bearers (+35.7%)
Per 100,000 70.72
Rank movement Up 39 places
2020
#113
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 208,066
-548 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 69.61
Rank movement Up 2 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #154 | 153,772 | 57.00 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #115 | 208,614 | 70.72 | +54,842 bearers (+35.7%) | Up 39 places |
| 2020 | #113 | 208,066 | 69.61 | -548 bearers (-0.3%) | Up 2 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 Romero 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 | #115 | #113 | 1.7% |
| Count | 208,614 | 208,066 | -0.3% |
| Per 100K | 70.72 | 69.61 | -1.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Romero bearers went from 208,614 to 208,066 (-0.3% change). The surname moved up 2 positions in the national ranking, going from #115 to #113.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Romero
FAQ
Romero surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Romero?
Name Census estimates that about 238,595 living Americans carry the surname Romero. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 1,437 residents.
How common is Romero?
Romero ranks #113 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Common." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 69.61 per 100,000 residents, which is about 70 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 208,066 people with the surname Romero. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (238,595), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 69.61 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 69.61 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 70 of them to have the surname Romero.
Has Romero become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Romero went from 208,614 recorded bearers to 208,066. That is a decrease of 548 (-0.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #115 to #113.
What does the Census say about the background of Romero?
Among Census respondents with the surname Romero, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 88.1%. The next largest groups are White (8.6%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%). 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 Romero in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.1% (183,221 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Romero appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (88.1%), White (8.6%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.5%). 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 Romero (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 Romero mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname indicating someone from a place abundant with rosemary plants or where pilgrimages to Rome began. 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 Romero (69.61 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 Romero?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.