The Soto surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 144,451 people carried this name — #191 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,040 people counted. That is up 35% from 106,631 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Soto surname
Inherited from Latin saltus.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Soto» (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 76,903 people named Soto 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 657 people named Soto.
290 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 43 départements, most often Hérault.
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 Switzerland’s population statistics
427 people named Soto live in Switzerland.
They live in 17 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
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 the Nordic population registers
141 people named Soto are counted in Sweden and Finland.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published. 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) · Digital and Population Data Services Agency (DVV), Finland, surname statistics, August 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Soto in American newspapers,
1830–1941.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 329,086 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Soto,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Hernando de Soto 1500–1542 · military personnel -
Francisco Soto de Langa 1534–1619 · composer -
Francisco de Soto Marne 1698–1771 · writer -
Julián González de Soto 1803–1864 · pedagogue -
Manuel Soto Freire 1826–1897 · journalist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 256 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Soto.
- Sorrenti 373 · U.S. census
- Sorrentino 4,956 · U.S. census
- Sory 258 · U.S. census
- Sosnowski 1,844 · U.S. census
- Sot 194 · U.S. census
- Soter 553 · U.S. census
- Sottile 1,415 · U.S. census
- Sotto 649 · U.S. census
- Sou 982 · U.S. census
- Souchet 132 · U.S. census
- Soucy 4,377 · U.S. census
- Soul 249 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Soto 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.