The Santos surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 137,232 people carried this name — #206 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,150 people counted. That is up 39% from 98,993 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Santos surname
From Romance (Spanish Santos, Portuguese Santos).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Santos» (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 25,231 people named Santos 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
5,124 people named Santos live in Switzerland.
They live in 25 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere 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 966 people named Santos.
Most of them — 534 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 70 départements, most often Paris.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 70 people named Santos live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Brussels-Capital.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In Poland’s population register
21 people named Santos have a registered home in Poland.
Of the 223 in Poland’s national register, these are the ones with a permanent address on file. They live in 5 of Poland’s 16 voivodeships, most of all in Pomeranian.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
PESEL register, Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland (dane.gov.pl) — CC0 · living people by voivodeship of permanent residence, 20 January 2026.
In the Nordic population registers
468 people named Santos are counted in Norway, Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. Norway publishes only surnames with 200 or more bearers. Finland counts its citizens, at home or abroad.
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) · Statistics Norway (SSB, ssb.no), table 12891, 2025 — CC BY 4.0 · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Santos in American newspapers,
1900–1903.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.
Who carried it
People named Santos,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Eugénio dos Santos 1711–1760 · architect -
Joaquim Ferreira dos Santos 1782–1866 · businessperson -
Arthur Napoleão dos Santos 1843–1925 · composer -
Máximo Santos 1847–1889 · military personnel -
António dos Santos Rocha 1853–1910 · archaeologist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 178 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Santos.
- Santini 3,680 · U.S. census
- Santo 4,620 · U.S. census
- Santon 249 · U.S. census
- Santoni 695 · U.S. census
- Santori 378 · U.S. census
- Santoro 8,713 · U.S. census
- Santucci 3,278 · U.S. census
- Santus 105 · U.S. census
- Santy 621 · U.S. census
- Sanz 1,847 · U.S. census
- Saoud 275 · U.S. census
- Sap 119 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Santos 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.