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

Arenas, 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 Arenas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Arenas in America

Arenas is the 3035th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Arenas surname appeared 11,809 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Arenas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Arenas 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 Arenas

The surname Arenas is of Spanish origin, derived from the Latin word "arena," meaning "sand." It is believed to have originated in the 13th century and was likely first used as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near sandy areas or worked with sand, such as in a quarry or as a builder.

The earliest known record of the surname Arenas can be found in the archives of the medieval Kingdom of Aragon, where it appears as "de Arenas" in reference to someone from a place called Arenas. This naming convention, using the preposition "de" (meaning "of" or "from"), was common practice at the time and often indicated the bearer's place of origin or residence.

During the 15th century, the name Arenas was particularly prevalent in the regions of Andalusia and Extremadura in southern Spain. It is worth noting that the word "arena" also has a meaning related to the amphitheaters or arenas used for public spectacles, such as bullfighting, during the Roman era in Spain.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Arenas was Pedro de Arenas, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in the early 16th century. Another notable figure was Juan de Arenas y Núñez de Prado (1534-1608), a Spanish prelate who served as the Bishop of Guadix and Baza in Andalusia.

In the 17th century, the Arenas family produced several notable members, including Francisco de Arenas (1615-1673), a Spanish painter and engraver, and Diego de Arenas y Brito (1637-1703), a Spanish prelate who served as the Bishop of Trujillo in Peru.

Later, in the 19th century, José Arenas y López (1842-1904) was a prominent Spanish painter and sculptor, known for his works depicting scenes from Spanish history and culture. Jesús Arenas Parra (1884-1956) was a Mexican artist and muralist, renowned for his contribution to the Mexican Muralist Movement.

Throughout history, variations of the surname Arenas have included Arenales, Arenal, and Areñas, reflecting regional linguistic differences and spelling conventions. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent, rooted in the Spanish language and culture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Arenas

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Arenas, 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!