The Castaneda surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 71,368 people carried this name — #464 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 4,130 people counted. That is up 40% from 51,089 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Castaneda surname
From castañeda (“chestnut grove”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entries «Castaneda» (English) and «Castañeda» (Spanish), 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 7,679 people named Castaneda 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 Switzerland’s population statistics
110 people named Castaneda live in Switzerland.
They live in 9 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
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.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 42 people named Castaneda.
21 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 9 départements, most often Marne.
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 the Nordic population registers
34 people named Castaneda is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Castaneda in American newspapers,
1834–1922.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 9,166 pages in all carry the name.
In print
Castaneda in Australian newspapers,
1930s–1980s.
65 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Castaneda. The most, 36, date from the 1930s.
Articles, by state
Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Castaneda.
Who carried it
People named Castaneda,
with a public archive behind them.
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Movita Castaneda 1916–2015 · actor -
Dominador Castaneda 1904–1967 · artist
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Margaret Runyan Castaneda 1921–2011
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Ricardo Castaneda 1955–2020 · writer
Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 26 lives in all are documented under this name.
In the public record
People named Castaneda,
in the records of 3 countries.
Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.
United States1,694 records
- U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 1,395
- U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 164
- U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 108
- New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 15
- New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 5
- U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 4
- U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 2
- Sacramento County historic burials 1
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Example: U.S. war memorial War record Benjamin Frank CastanedaBorn 1945; from Oakland, California. U.S. Army, infantry unit commander; killed in action 1968 in Vinh Long, South Vietnam. Buried at San Francisco National Cemetery, California.
U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. registration card, 1942 Military record Nash G. CastanedaBorn 1912 in California. Enlisted 1942 at Los Angeles; garage worker. U.S. Army Air Forces veteran of World War II; died 1963, buried at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery, California.
U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) -
Example: U.S. burial record, 1864 Burial record Rodolfo A. CastanedaU.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War. Born 1951, died 2001; buried at Fort Custer National Cemetery, Michigan.
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
Showing 3 of 1,694 records for Castaneda in the United States.
Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain) · Sacramento County, Historic Burials (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).
France10 records
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Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Prudentiana CastanedaBorn 1908 in Spain; died 1998 in Bordeaux (Gironde).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Luis CastanedaBorn 1923 in Spain; died 1997 in Toulouse (Haute-Garonne).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte) -
Example: French death register, 1930 Death record Sandres Consuelo CastanedaBorn 1938 in Spain; died 1997 in Toulon (Var).
Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
Showing 3 of 10 records for Castaneda in France.
Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).
Netherlands4 records
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Example: U.S. census, 1910 Population register John CastanedaIn the population register of Amsterdam; born 1836 in Londen.
Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: U.S. census, 1910 Population register Miquel CastanedaIn the population register of Amsterdam; born 1802 in Madrid.
Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0) -
Example: U.S. census, 1910 Population register Miguel CastanedaIn the population register of Amsterdam; born 1802 in Madrid.
Open Archives, Stadsarchief Amsterdam (CC BY 4.0)
Showing 3 of 4 records for Castaneda in the Netherlands.
Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Castaneda.
- Castagno 433 · U.S. census
- Castagnoli 137 · U.S. census
- Castaing 226 · U.S. census
- Castaldi 809 · U.S. census
- Castaldo 2,222 · U.S. census
- Castan 226 · U.S. census
- Castaner 203 · U.S. census
- Castanheira 193 · U.S. census
- Castano 6,133 · U.S. census
- Castanon 7,673 · U.S. census
- Casteel 8,472 · U.S. census
- Castel 711 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Castaneda 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.