The Valdes surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 20,527 people carried this name — #1,745 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 14,400 people counted. That is up 32% from 15,567 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Valdes surname
From Spanish Valdés, from Asturian Valdés.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Valdes» (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 5,295 people named Valdes 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 150 people named Valdes.
70 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 21 départements, most often Hautes-Pyrénées.
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
117 people named Valdes live in Switzerland.
They live in 10 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
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 the Nordic population registers
95 people named Valdes 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
Valdes in American newspapers,
1888–1902.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 40,475 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Valdes,
with a public archive behind them.
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Albert Valdes 1884–1971 · physician -
Andres Valdes 1936–2023 · actor -
Andres Valdes 1936–2023 · actor
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Andres Valdes 1936–2023 · actor
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Gilberto Valdés 1905–1972 · composer
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Gilberto Valdés 1905–1972 · composer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Valdes.
- Vairo 331 · U.S. census
- Vais 201 · U.S. census
- Val 674 · U.S. census
- Vala 462 · U.S. census
- Valade 673 · U.S. census
- Valance 106 · U.S. census
- Valdivia 15,895 · U.S. census
- Vale 3,334 · U.S. census
- Valence 154 · U.S. census
- Valencia 70,000 · U.S. census
- Valencourt 127 · U.S. census
- Valent 693 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Valdes 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.