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

Arenal, 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 Arenal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Arenal in America

Arenal is the 77522nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Arenal surname appeared 247 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 Arenal.

We can also compare 2010 data for Arenal 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 Arenal

The surname ARENAL originated in Spain, specifically in the Basque region. It can be traced back to the 12th century and is derived from the Basque word "arenal," meaning "sandy place" or "area with sand." This suggests that the name was initially given to people who lived near sandy areas or worked with sand.

In the early 13th century, the name ARENAL appeared in several records and documents, including the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a medieval manuscript from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain. This indicates that the name was already well-established in the region during that time.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname ARENAL was Pedro Arenal, a merchant and landowner who lived in the town of Arenzana de Abajo, La Rioja, in the late 14th century. Another notable early bearer of the name was Juana Arenal, a writer and poet from Seville who lived in the 16th century.

In the 17th century, the surname ARENAL spread beyond the Basque region as people migrated to other parts of Spain and the Americas. One prominent figure from this period was Concepción Arenal, a Spanish writer, feminist, and social reformer born in 1820 in El Ferrol, Galicia. She was a pioneer in advocating for women's rights and prison reform.

During the 19th century, the name ARENAL gained further recognition with individuals such as Juan Arenal, a Spanish military officer and politician who served as the Minister of War in the early 1840s. Another notable figure was Ramón Arenal, a Cuban lawyer and journalist who played a significant role in the struggle for Cuban independence from Spain in the late 19th century.

In the 20th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname ARENAL was Germán Arciniegas Arenal, a Colombian writer, historian, and diplomat born in 1900. He was a prominent figure in Latin American literature and served as the ambassador of Colombia to several countries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Arenal

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

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

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

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