2000
#64,750
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 287
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.11
Very Rare Last name
Saldanha
A Portuguese surname derived from the town of Saldanha in southwestern Portugal.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 741 Americans carry the last name Saldanha. That puts it at #37,126 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.22 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 462,556 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Saldanha 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 Saldanha with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
741
1 in 462,556
Census rank
#37,126
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
646
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 646 bearers of the surname Saldanha in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.22 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 37126th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Saldanha, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (28.6%) and Two or More Races (6.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Saldanha
The surname Saldanha originated in Portugal, with records dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Portuguese word "salda," meaning a thin, flat cake made of flour and water. This surname likely referred to someone who made or sold these cakes.
The name is also associated with the town of Saldanha in Portugal, which may have been named after a person with the surname Saldanha. The earliest known record of the name appears in a Portuguese manuscript from 1352, where a nobleman named Joao Saldanha is mentioned.
In the 15th century, the Saldanha family became prominent in Portugal, with several members holding high positions in the royal court. One notable figure was Vasco de Gama Saldanha, a Portuguese explorer who was the first European to reach India by sea in 1498.
Another famous bearer of the name was Antonio de Saldanha, a 16th-century Portuguese nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the Portuguese conquest of India. He was born in 1503 and died in 1575.
During the colonial era, the Saldanha surname spread to various parts of the Portuguese Empire, including Brazil, Africa, and Asia. In Brazil, the name is particularly common in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.
In the late 18th century, a prominent member of the Saldanha family was João Carlos de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, a Portuguese military officer and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1808 to 1810.
Another noteworthy figure was Duarte Nuno Saldanha da Gama, a 19th-century Portuguese nobleman, politician, and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Council of Ministers.
The Saldanha surname has also been found in other European countries, such as Spain and Italy, likely due to migration and intermarriage between noble families.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Saldanha
Among Census respondents with the surname Saldanha, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (28.6%) and Two or More Races (6.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Saldanha 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 Saldanha surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander59.4% · 384
- White28.6% · 185
- Two or more races6.7% · 43
- Hispanic or Latino2.9% · 19
- Black or African American2.3% · 15
Timeline
Historical Census data for Saldanha
Saldanha 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
#44,730
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 480
+193 bearers (+67.2%)
Per 100,000 0.16
Rank movement Up 20,020 places
2020
#37,126
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 646
+166 bearers (+34.6%)
Per 100,000 0.22
Rank movement Up 7,604 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #64,750 | 287 | 0.11 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #44,730 | 480 | 0.16 | +193 bearers (+67.2%) | Up 20,020 places |
| 2020 | #37,126 | 646 | 0.22 | +166 bearers (+34.6%) | Up 7,604 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 Saldanha 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 | #44,730 | #37,126 | 17.0% |
| Count | 480 | 646 | 34.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.16 | 0.22 | 35.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Saldanha bearers went from 480 to 646 (+34.6% change). The surname moved up 7,604 positions in the national ranking, going from #44,730 to #37,126.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Saldanha
FAQ
Saldanha surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Saldanha?
Name Census estimates that about 741 living Americans carry the surname Saldanha. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 462,556 residents.
How common is Saldanha?
Saldanha ranks #37,126 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.22 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 646 people with the surname Saldanha. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (741), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.22 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.22 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 Saldanha.
Has Saldanha become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Saldanha went from 480 recorded bearers to 646. That is an increase of 166 (+34.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #44,730 to #37,126.
What does the Census say about the background of Saldanha?
Among Census respondents with the surname Saldanha, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 59.4%. The next largest groups are White (28.6%) and Two or More Races (6.7%). 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?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Saldanha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 59.4% (384 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Saldanha appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (59.4%), White (28.6%), Two or More Races (6.7%). 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 Saldanha (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 Saldanha mean?
A Portuguese surname derived from the town of Saldanha in southwestern Portugal. 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 Saldanha (0.22 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 surname Saldanha?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.