Find out how popular the last name Affonso is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Affonso.

Affonso, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Affonso surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Affonso in America

Affonso is the 69996th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Affonso surname appeared 280 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Affonso.

We can also compare 2010 data for Affonso to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Affonso

The surname Affonso has its origins in Portugal, dating back to the early Middle Ages. It is derived from the Portuguese form of the personal name "Alfonso," which itself comes from the Germanic name "Adalfuns," meaning "noble and ready."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Affonso surname can be found in the Livro Velho de Linhagens, a 14th-century Portuguese book of genealogies. It mentions several individuals bearing this name, including Affonso Pires, a nobleman from the 13th century.

During the Age of Exploration, the Affonso surname spread to various parts of the Portuguese Empire, including Brazil, Africa, and Asia. Notable individuals with this surname include Affonso de Albuquerque (1453-1515), a celebrated Portuguese explorer and military commander who conquered several territories in the Indian Ocean.

In the 16th century, Affonso Sanches (1496-1545), a Portuguese physician and philosopher, gained recognition for his contributions to the field of medicine and his writings on the human body.

The Affonso surname also has a presence in literature, with one of the most famous bearers being Affonso Lopes de Baião (1390-1457), a Portuguese poet and chronicler who served as the royal librarian at the court of King Duarte I.

Another notable figure is Affonso Ferreira de Serpa Pinto (1846-1900), a Portuguese explorer and colonial administrator who led several expeditions across Africa and wrote extensively about his travels.

Throughout history, the Affonso surname has been associated with various place names and locations in Portugal, such as the town of Affonso in the northern region of Minho, and the Affonso river in the Alentejo region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Affonso

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Affonso.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Affonso was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Affonso has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Affonso was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Affonso, please contact us.

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