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

Aguilera, 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 Aguilera surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Aguilera in America

Aguilera is the 1109th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Aguilera surname appeared 31,581 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 11 people would have the surname Aguilera.

We can also compare 2010 data for Aguilera 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 Aguilera

The surname Aguilera originates from Spain and dates back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish word "águila," meaning "eagle," and the suffix "-era," indicating a place or location. The name likely referred to someone who lived near a place associated with eagles, such as a rocky area where these birds nested or hunted.

Aguilera is a locational surname, meaning it initially identified a person by the place they were from or lived. Many Spanish surnames were derived from place names, reflecting the importance of land ownership and regional identity during the medieval period.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Aguilera surname can be found in the "Libro Becerro," a medieval Spanish manuscript from the 13th century. This document contained records of landowners and noblemen, suggesting that the Aguilera family may have held a prominent position in their local community.

In the 14th century, a man named Pedro Aguilera was mentioned in historical records as a knight who fought alongside King Alfonso XI of Castile during the Reconquista, the Christian reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors.

During the 16th century, the Aguilera surname appeared in various regions of Spain, including Andalusia, Castile, and Aragon. One notable figure from this period was Gaspar Aguilera, a Spanish composer and organist who lived from around 1565 to 1623.

In the 17th century, Pedro de Aguilera y Ayala (1598-1665) was a Spanish military officer and governor of Puerto Rico. He played a significant role in defending the island against attacks by Dutch and English forces.

Another notable individual with the Aguilera surname was Ventura Rodríguez Tizón Aguilera (1717-1785), a renowned Spanish architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Royal Palace of Madrid and the façade of the Basilica of San Francisco el Grande.

As the Spanish Empire expanded across the Americas, the Aguilera surname also spread to various regions, including Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. Over time, variations of the name emerged, such as Aguilar, Aguilar-Aguilera, and Aguilera-Aguilar.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Aguilera

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

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 Aguilera 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 Aguilera 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 Aguilera was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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