Explore the Family Name Filho

The meaning of Filho

Portuguese (mainly Brazil): from Portuguese filho ‘son’, used as a distinguishing name for a father and son with the same name.

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

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

According to the Decennial U.S. Census data, the popularity of the surname Filho has increased between 2000 and 2010. In the year 2000, Filho was ranked 62,775th in terms of commonality among surnames. However, by 2010, it had moved up to the 42,308th position, showing an increase in rank by 32.6%. The count of individuals with this surname also rose from 298 to 513, marking a substantial increase of 72.15%. The proportion per 100,000 people also grew from 0.11 to 0.17, signifying a rise of 54.55%.

	2000	2010	Change
Rank	#62,775	#42,308	32.6%
Count	298	513	72.15%
Proportion per 100k	0.11	0.17	54.55%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Filho

When looking at the ethnic identity associated with the surname Filho, the Decennial U.S. Census data shows some noteworthy changes between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of individuals identifying as White increased from 56.04% to 82.26%, indicating a growth of 46.79%. There was also a notable rise in those identifying as Black, moving from 2.68% to 9.16%, an increase of 241.79%. Notably, the census began recording individuals of Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity, which amounted to 2.34% in 2010. Conversely, there was a decrease in those identifying as Hispanic, dropping from 7.72% to 4.48%. Individuals identifying with two or more races were recorded at 32.89% in 2000, but this category was suppressed in 2010 for privacy reasons. No individuals identified as American Indian and Alaskan Native in either year.

	2000	2010	Change
White	56.04%	82.26%	46.79%
Black	2.68%	9.16%	241.79%
Hispanic	7.72%	4.48%	-41.97%
Asian/Pacific Islander	0%	2.34%	0%
Two or More Races	32.89%	0%	0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native	0%	0%	0%