The Alcala surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 17,758 people carried this name — #2,029 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 16,600 people counted. That is up 37% from 12,972 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Alcala surname
From Spanish Alcalá, from Arabic القَلْعة (al-qalʕa, “the citadel, the fort”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Alcala» (English), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 1,241 people named Alcala live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 107 people named Alcala.
Most of them — 64 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 15 départements, most often Calvados.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
46 people named Alcala live in Switzerland.
They live in 6 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
Who carried it
People named Alcala,
with a public archive behind them.
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Larry Alcala 1926–2002 · cartoonist -
Rodney Alcala 1943–2021 · serial killer -
Alberto Alcalá de Lira 1917– · teacher
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Alfredo Alcala 1925–2000 · inker
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José Alcala 1953– · screenwriter
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John Alcala 1959– · politician
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Alcala.
- Albini 345 · U.S. census
- Albo 764 · U.S. census
- Albrecht 17,581 · U.S. census
- Albus 751 · U.S. census
- Alby 189 · U.S. census
- Alcaide 871 · U.S. census
- Alcalde 699 · U.S. census
- Alcantara 12,636 · U.S. census
- Alcaras 220 · U.S. census
- Alcaraz 11,616 · U.S. census
- Alcazar 4,219 · U.S. census
- Alcide 561 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Alcala is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.