2000
#497
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 60,045
First available Census row
Per 100,000 22.26
Uncommon Last name
Solis
A Spanish surname derived from the Latin word "sol," meaning "sun," likely referring to a person's sunny disposition or appearance.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 92,005 Americans carry the last name Solis. That puts it at #392 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 26.84 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 3,725 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Solis 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 Solis with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
92K
1 in 3,725
Census rank
#392
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
26.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
80K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 80,233 bearers of the surname Solis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 26.84 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 392nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Solis, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Solis
The surname Solis is of Spanish origin, derived from the Latin word "sol" meaning "sun." It is believed to have first emerged in the regions of Castile and Andalusia during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Solis name can be found in the Becerro de Behetrías, a medieval census document from the 14th century. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Solis who were landowners and vassals of the Crown of Castile.
The name Solis may have also been associated with the town of Solis, located in the province of Guadalajara, Spain. This town's name is derived from the Latin word "solus," meaning "alone" or "isolated," suggesting that the surname could have originated from a place name.
In the 15th century, Pedro Solis de Portillo, a Spanish explorer and navigator, was among the first Europeans to explore the coast of modern-day Venezuela. He is believed to have been born around 1470 in Seville and died sometime after 1520.
Another notable figure with the Solis surname was Juan Díaz de Solis, a Spanish explorer and navigator who is credited with discovering the Río de la Plata (River Plate) in South America in 1516. He was born around 1470 in Lebrija, Spain, and was killed by indigenous people in present-day Uruguay in 1516.
During the 16th century, the Solis name appeared in various historical records, including the archives of the Spanish Inquisition. One such record mentions Alonso de Solis, a Jewish converso (convert to Christianity) who was tried and convicted by the Inquisition in Seville in 1538.
In the 17th century, Antonio de Solis y Rivadeneyra, a Spanish writer, historian, and playwright, gained prominence for his work "Historia de la Conquista de México" (History of the Conquest of Mexico). He was born in 1610 in Alcalá de Henares and died in 1686 in Madrid.
Another notable figure from this period was Antonio de Solis, a Spanish military officer and engineer who played a crucial role in the construction of the Royal Fortress of Bahrain in the Persian Gulf during the 17th century.
Throughout history, the Solis surname has been found across various regions of Spain, as well as in Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, where it was carried by Spanish settlers and immigrants.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Solis
Among Census respondents with the surname Solis, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Solis 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 Solis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.7% · 73,565
- White5.3% · 4,240
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 1,559
- Black or African American0.5% · 373
- Two or more races0.4% · 318
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 178
Timeline
Historical Census data for Solis
Solis 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
#388
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 82,146
+22,101 bearers (+36.8%)
Per 100,000 27.85
Rank movement Up 109 places
2020
#392
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 80,233
-1,913 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 26.84
Rank movement Down 4 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #497 | 60,045 | 22.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #388 | 82,146 | 27.85 | +22,101 bearers (+36.8%) | Up 109 places |
| 2020 | #392 | 80,233 | 26.84 | -1,913 bearers (-2.3%) | Down 4 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 Solis 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 | #388 | #392 | -1.0% |
| Count | 82,146 | 80,233 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 27.85 | 26.84 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Solis bearers went from 82,146 to 80,233 (-2.3% change). The surname moved down 4 positions in the national ranking, going from #388 to #392.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Solis
FAQ
Solis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Solis?
Name Census estimates that about 92,005 living Americans carry the surname Solis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 3,725 residents.
How common is Solis?
Solis ranks #392 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 26.84 per 100,000 residents, which is about 27 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 80,233 people with the surname Solis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (92,005), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 26.84 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 26.84 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 27 of them to have the surname Solis.
Has Solis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Solis went from 82,146 recorded bearers to 80,233. That is a decrease of 1,913 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it fell from #388 to #392.
What does the Census say about the background of Solis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Solis, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.7%. The next largest groups are White (5.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Solis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.7% (73,565 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Solis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (91.7%), White (5.3%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.9%). 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 Solis (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 Solis mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the Latin word "sol," meaning "sun," likely referring to a person's sunny disposition or appearance. 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 Solis (26.84 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 Solis?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.