Explore the Family Name Fidalgo

The meaning of Fidalgo

Portuguese: from fidalgo ‘nobleman’ (see Spanish Hidalgo). Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Carlos, Jose, Manuel, Jorge, Orlando, Americo, Casimira, Elida, Enrique, Jacinto, Jose Manuel, Juan. Portuguese Joao, Joaquim.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Fidalgo in the United States?

According to the Decennial U.S. Census, the surname Fidalgo saw a significant increase in popularity from 2000 to 2010. It improved its rank from 41,382 in 2000 to 34,707 in 2010, showing a change of 16.13%. The count of people with the Fidalgo surname also rose by 31.25% during this period, moving from 496 to 651 individuals. This resulted in a proportion per 100k increase from 0.18 in 2000 to 0.22 in 2010, marking a growth rate of 22.22%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#41,382	#34,707	16.13%
Count	496	651	31.25%
Proportion per 100k	0.18	0.22	22.22%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Fidalgo

The data from the Decennial U.S. Census also provides insights into the ethnic identity associated with the surname Fidalgo. In 2000, the largest group identified as White (60.48%), followed by Hispanic (25.20%), and Black (3.83%). By 2010, while White remained the largest group (59.60%), there was a noticeable increase in those identifying as Hispanic (29.95%) and Black (9.37%). Interestingly, the percentage of individuals identifying with two or more races dropped entirely from 10.28% to 0%. A new entry in 2010 was the Asian/Pacific Islander category, which constituted 0.77% of the population with this surname. The American Indian and Alaskan Native category had no representation in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	60.48%	59.6%	-1.46%
Hispanic	25.2%	29.95%	18.85%
Black	3.83%	9.37%	144.65%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	0.77%	0%
Two or More Races	10.28%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%