Alamo last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Alamo

A Spanish toponymic surname referring to a poplar or cottonwood tree, or someone living near such a tree.

Alamo, 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 Alamo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alamo in America

Alamo is the 9433rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alamo surname appeared 3,448 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Alamo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alamo 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 9433 11060 -15.88%
Count 3,448 2,636 26.69%
Proportion per 100k 1.17 0.98 17.67%

The history of the last name Alamo

The surname Alamo has its origins in Spain, where it first emerged in the 12th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "álamo," which means "poplar tree." This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who lived near a poplar grove or was associated with the cultivation or trade of poplar trees.

In its earliest recorded spellings, the name appeared as "Alamo" and "de Alamo," with the latter indicating a place of origin. It is believed that the name may have originated in the region of Castile, where poplar trees were abundant.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in a 13th-century manuscript from the Kingdom of Castile, where a certain "Pedro de Alamo" was mentioned as a landowner. This suggests that the name was already well-established among the nobility or landholding classes by that time.

By the 15th century, the name had spread across Spain and was found in various regions, including Andalusia and Catalonia. In the 16th century, the name made its way to the Americas as Spanish explorers and settlers began to establish colonies in the New World.

One notable bearer of the name was Juan de Alamo, a Spanish soldier and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in the early 16th century. He is believed to have been born in Seville around 1490 and died in Mexico in the 1540s.

Another prominent figure with the surname Alamo was Alonso de Alamo, a Spanish architect who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings in Seville, including the Church of Santa María la Blanca.

In the 18th century, a notable bearer of the name was Miguel de Alamo, a Spanish painter who was active in Madrid. He was known for his religious paintings and portraits, and his works can be found in various churches and museums in Spain.

Jumping to the 19th century, there was José María Alamo, a Spanish military officer who fought in the Peninsular War against the French forces of Napoleon. He was born in Cádiz in 1785 and died in Madrid in 1856.

Finally, in the 20th century, one notable individual with the surname Alamo was María Alamo, a Spanish actress and singer who appeared in numerous films and stage productions. She was born in Barcelona in 1923 and passed away in Madrid in 2011.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alamo

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

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 Alamo was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 12.33% 425
Non-Hispanic Black Only 1.91% 66
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 3.57% 123
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.15% 5
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.64% 22
Hispanic Origin 81.41% 2,807

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 Alamo has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 12.33% 10.74% 13.78%
Black 1.91% 2.01% -5.10%
Asian and Pacific Islander 3.57% 1.93% 59.64%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.15% 0.19% -23.53%
Two or More Races 0.64% 1.25% -64.55%
Hispanic 81.41% 83.88% -2.99%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Alamo last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 27, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/alamo-surname-popularity/.

"Alamo last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/alamo-surname-popularity/. Accessed 27 July, 2024

Alamo last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/alamo-surname-popularity/.

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