2000
#545
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 55,057
First available Census row
Per 100,000 20.41
Uncommon Last name
Serrano
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near or on a hill or mountain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 87,210 Americans carry the last name Serrano. That puts it at #419 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 25.44 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,930 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Serrano 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 Serrano with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
87K
1 in 3,930
Census rank
#419
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
25.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
76K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 76,051 bearers of the surname Serrano in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 25.44 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 419th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Serrano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.3%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Serrano
The surname Serrano is of Spanish origin, deriving from the word "serrano," which means "mountain dweller" or "highlander." It is believed to have originated in the mountainous regions of Spain during the medieval period.
The name first appeared in historical records as early as the 12th century, when it was used to identify individuals who lived in or near the Sierra de Guadarrama mountain range, located northwest of Madrid. The earliest recorded spelling of the name was "Serrano," but variations such as "Serran" and "Serrani" were also common.
One of the earliest known bearers of the Serrano surname was Pedro Serrano, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. Another notable figure was Juan Serrano, a 16th-century Spanish missionary who established several missions in California and is considered a pioneer in the evangelization of the region.
In the 17th century, the name Serrano was found in various documents and records, including the parish registers of several towns and villages in Spain. One notable example is Francisco Serrano y Domínguez, a Spanish military officer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Spain from 1874 to 1875.
As the Serrano family spread throughout Spain and its territories, the name became associated with various places and regions. For instance, the town of Serranillos del Valle, located in the province of Madrid, likely derived its name from the Serrano family who settled there.
Other notable individuals with the Serrano surname include Andrés Serrano, an American artist born in 1950, known for his controversial photograph "Piss Christ," and Vicente Serrano, a 19th-century Mexican military leader who fought in the Mexican-American War.
While the Serrano surname is most commonly associated with Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, it has also been adopted by families in other parts of the world, particularly in regions with a significant Spanish influence or migration.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Serrano
Among Census respondents with the surname Serrano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.3%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Serrano 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 Serrano surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.3% · 67,924
- White5.7% · 4,366
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.4% · 2,553
- Black or African American0.9% · 661
- Two or more races0.5% · 375
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 172
Timeline
Historical Census data for Serrano
Serrano 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
#429
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 75,996
+20,939 bearers (+38.0%)
Per 100,000 25.76
Rank movement Up 116 places
2020
#419
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 76,051
+55 bearers (+0.1%)
Per 100,000 25.44
Rank movement Up 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #545 | 55,057 | 20.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #429 | 75,996 | 25.76 | +20,939 bearers (+38.0%) | Up 116 places |
| 2020 | #419 | 76,051 | 25.44 | +55 bearers (+0.1%) | Up 10 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 Serrano 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 | #429 | #419 | 2.3% |
| Count | 75,996 | 76,051 | 0.1% |
| Per 100K | 25.76 | 25.44 | -1.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Serrano bearers went from 75,996 to 76,051 (+0.1% change). The surname moved up 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #429 to #419.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Serrano
FAQ
Serrano surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Serrano?
Name Census estimates that about 87,210 living Americans carry the surname Serrano. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,930 residents.
How common is Serrano?
Serrano ranks #419 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 25.44 per 100,000 residents, which is about 25 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 76,051 people with the surname Serrano. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (87,210), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 25.44 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 25.44 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 25 of them to have the surname Serrano.
Has Serrano become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Serrano went from 75,996 recorded bearers to 76,051. That is an increase of 55 (+0.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #429 to #419.
What does the Census say about the background of Serrano?
Among Census respondents with the surname Serrano, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.3%. The next largest groups are White (5.7%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%). 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 Serrano in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.3% (67,924 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Serrano appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (89.3%), White (5.7%), Asian/Pacific Islander (3.4%). 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 Serrano (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 Serrano mean?
A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone who lived near or on a hill or mountain. 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 Serrano (25.44 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 Serrano?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.