2000
#18,045
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,425
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.53
Rare Last name
Vida
Spanish surname meaning "life".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,683 Americans carry the last name Vida. That puts it at #18,570 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 203,657 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vida 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 Vida with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.7K
1 in 203,657
Census rank
#18,570
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,468 bearers of the surname Vida in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 18570th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vida, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.9%) and Hispanic (10.2%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Vida
The surname VIDA is of Spanish origin, originating in the 14th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "vida," meaning "life." The name was likely initially given as a descriptive nickname to someone who displayed a zest for life or who had survived a life-threatening ordeal.
The earliest recorded instances of the VIDA surname can be found in medieval Spanish records and documents from the regions of Andalusia, Castile, and Aragon. The name was particularly common in the town of Vida, near Burgos, which may have been the original source of the surname.
One of the earliest known bearers of the VIDA surname was Juan de Vida, a Spanish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors in the 13th century. Another notable figure was Pedro de Vida, a 15th-century Spanish poet and playwright whose works were influential during the Renaissance period.
In the 16th century, the VIDA surname spread beyond Spain as Spanish explorers and settlers ventured to the Americas. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the New World was Diego de Vida, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the 1520s.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, the VIDA surname was found among Spanish settlers in various regions of the Americas, including Mexico, Peru, and the Caribbean islands. Notable bearers of the name during this period include Juan de Vida y Castilla, a Spanish colonial administrator who served as the governor of Yucatán in the late 17th century.
In the 19th century, the VIDA surname gained prominence in the United States, particularly in areas with large Hispanic populations. One of the most famous individuals with this surname was Jeremiah Vida, an American politician and lawyer who served as the 13th governor of Texas from 1873 to 1876.
Other notable individuals with the VIDA surname include Francisco Vida, a 20th-century Mexican artist known for his paintings and murals depicting Mexican culture and history, and María Vida, a Spanish writer and feminist activist who was a prominent figure in the early 20th-century women's rights movement in Spain.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vida
Among Census respondents with the surname Vida, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.9%) and Hispanic (10.2%).
The bar chart below shows how Vida 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 Vida surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.2% · 986
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.9% · 233
- Hispanic or Latino10.2% · 150
- Two or more races5.7% · 84
- Black or African American0.8% · 12
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vida
Vida 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
#19,004
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,434
+9 bearers (+0.6%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Down 959 places
2020
#18,570
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,468
+34 bearers (+2.4%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Up 434 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,045 | 1,425 | 0.53 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,004 | 1,434 | 0.49 | +9 bearers (+0.6%) | Down 959 places |
| 2020 | #18,570 | 1,468 | 0.49 | +34 bearers (+2.4%) | Up 434 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 Vida 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 | #19,004 | #18,570 | 2.3% |
| Count | 1,434 | 1,468 | 2.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.49 | 0.49 | 0.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vida bearers went from 1,434 to 1,468 (+2.4% change). The surname moved up 434 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,004 to #18,570.
FAQ
Vida surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vida?
Name Census estimates that about 1,683 living Americans carry the surname Vida. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 203,657 residents.
How common is Vida?
Vida ranks #18,570 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.49 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 1,468 people with the surname Vida. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,683), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.49 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 Vida.
Has Vida become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vida went from 1,434 recorded bearers to 1,468. That is an increase of 34 (+2.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #19,004 to #18,570.
What does the Census say about the background of Vida?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vida, the largest self-reported group is White at 67.2%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.9%) and Hispanic (10.2%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Vida in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.2% (986 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vida appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (67.2%), Asian/Pacific Islander (15.9%), Hispanic (10.2%). 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 Vida (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 Vida mean?
Spanish surname meaning "life". 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 Vida (0.49 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 Vida?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.