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

Alana, 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 Alana surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alana in America

Alana is the 65964th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alana surname appeared 300 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 Alana.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alana 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 Alana

The surname Alana is believed to have originated in Spain, with its roots dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Arabic word "al-ana," which means "to shelter" or "to protect." This name is thought to have been given to individuals who lived near a shelter or a protected area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Alana can be found in the Cartulario de San Juan de la Peña, a medieval manuscript from the 12th century. The document mentions a certain Rodrigo Alana, who was a landowner in the region of Aragon.

During the 13th century, the surname Alana was also found in various records from the Kingdom of Valencia. It is believed that some families bearing this name may have migrated from Aragon to Valencia during this time period.

In the 15th century, the surname Alana was associated with a noble family from the town of Almansa, located in the province of Albacete. This family is known to have played a significant role in the local politics and governance of the region.

One notable individual with the surname Alana was Pedro Alana, a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493. Pedro Alana was born in Seville in 1470 and is remembered for his contributions to the exploration and mapping of the Caribbean islands.

Another prominent figure with the Alana surname was María Alana, a Spanish writer and poet who lived during the 16th century. She was born in Valencia in 1525 and is known for her poetry collection titled "Cancionero de María Alana," which was published in 1558.

In the 17th century, the surname Alana was also found in the records of the Inquisition in Spain. One notable individual from this period was Juan Alana, a merchant from Zaragoza who was accused of heresy by the Inquisition in 1645.

During the 18th century, the Alana surname appeared in various records from the Spanish colonies in the Americas. For example, Pedro Alana was a Spanish colonial administrator who served as the governor of the province of Yucatán in the 1760s.

In the 19th century, the Alana surname was found in various regions of Spain, with notable individuals including José Alana, a Spanish military officer who served in the Carlist Wars of the 1830s and 1840s, and Mariana Alana, a renowned Spanish artist and painter who was born in Madrid in 1825.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alana

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

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

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

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