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

Alfaro, 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 Alfaro surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Alfaro in America

Alfaro is the 975th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Alfaro surname appeared 35,725 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 12 people would have the surname Alfaro.

We can also compare 2010 data for Alfaro 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 Alfaro

The surname Alfaro has its origins in Spain, specifically in the region of Andalusia. It is derived from the Arabic word "al-fawarr," which means "the stream" or "the fountain." This suggests that the name was likely given to people who lived near a stream or a spring.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Alfaro dates back to the 13th century, during the time of the Reconquista, when Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula were reclaiming territories from the Moors. It is believed that the name Alfaro may have been adopted by families who lived in or near the town of Alfaro, located in the La Rioja region of northern Spain.

In the 14th century, the name Alfaro appeared in the Libro de la Montería, a medieval hunting treatise written by King Alfonso XI of Castile. This document mentions a place called "Villa de Alfaro," indicating that the name was associated with a specific location at that time.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Alfaro was Pedro Alfaro, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico in the 16th century. He was born around 1490 and played a role in the fall of the Aztec Empire alongside Hernán Cortés.

In the 17th century, Juan de Alfaro y Gámez (1643-1680) was a prominent Spanish painter and engraver who worked in the Baroque style. He was known for his religious paintings and portraits, and his works can be found in various churches and museums across Spain.

Another notable figure with the surname Alfaro was Juan Alfaro (1701-1780), a Spanish architect and engineer who designed several important buildings in Madrid, including the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and the Church of San Marcos.

In the 19th century, Niceto Alcalá-Zamora y Alfaro (1877-1949) was a Spanish politician who served as the first Prime Minister of the Second Spanish Republic from 1931 to 1933. He played a significant role in the transition from the monarchy to a democratic system in Spain.

The surname Alfaro has also been present in Latin American countries, likely carried by Spanish settlers during the colonial era. One example is Eloy Alfaro (1842-1912), a prominent Ecuadorian politician and military leader who served as the President of Ecuador from 1897 to 1901 and again from 1906 to 1911.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Alfaro

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!