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

Atencio, 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 Atencio surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Atencio in America

Atencio is the 7477th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Atencio surname appeared 4,456 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Atencio.

We can also compare 2010 data for Atencio 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 Atencio

The surname Atencio originates from Spain and dates back to the 15th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "atención," which means "attention" or "care." The name likely referred to someone who was attentive, careful, or meticulous in their work or conduct.

The earliest recorded instances of the Atencio surname can be found in various historical documents from the regions of Aragon and Catalonia in northeastern Spain. Some of the earliest known bearers of the name include Juan Atencio, a merchant from Barcelona who lived in the late 15th century, and María Atencio, a landowner from Zaragoza in the early 16th century.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, the Atencio surname began to spread beyond Spain, as Spanish explorers, colonists, and missionaries traveled to the Americas. One notable figure was Fray Tomás Atencio, a Franciscan friar who accompanied the Spanish expedition to New Mexico in the late 16th century and played a role in the early evangelization efforts in the region.

During the colonial era, the Atencio surname became established in various parts of Spanish America, particularly in present-day Mexico and parts of Central America. In the 18th century, Pedro Atencio was a prominent landowner and rancher in the region of Nuevo León, Mexico, while José Atencio was a respected silversmith and artisan in Guatemala City.

As the centuries passed, the Atencio surname continued to be found throughout the Spanish-speaking world. In the 19th century, Manuel Atencio was a notable military officer who fought in the Mexican-American War, and Joaquín Atencio was a renowned poet and writer from Colombia.

Other notable individuals with the Atencio surname include Félix Atencio (1887-1964), a Mexican-American artist and muralist; Javier Atencio (1909-1987), a Peruvian novelist and essayist; and Andrés Atencio (1933-2020), a Venezuelan composer and musician who helped popularize the joropo musical genre.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Atencio

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

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

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

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