Barreras last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Barreras

A Spanish surname referring to living near or working at a barrier, gate, or fence.

Barreras, 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 Barreras surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Barreras in America

Barreras is the 9313th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Barreras surname appeared 3,496 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Barreras.

We can also compare 2010 data for Barreras 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 9313 10629 -13.20%
Count 3,496 2,766 23.32%
Proportion per 100k 1.19 1.03 14.41%

The history of the last name Barreras

The surname Barreras originates from Spain, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish word "barrera," which means "barrier" or "obstacle." This name likely arose as a descriptive term for someone who lived near a barrier or fortification.

One of the earliest known references to the Barreras surname comes from the 13th century, when it appeared in records from the region of Castile. During this time, many surnames were derived from occupations, physical characteristics, or geographic locations.

In the 14th century, the name Barreras was found in various medieval manuscripts and documents, including some from the Kingdom of Aragon. It is possible that the name was associated with individuals who lived or worked near defensive barriers or fortifications in these regions.

The Barreras surname has also been connected to certain place names, such as Barrera, a town in the province of Ávila, and Barreras, a municipality in the province of León. These place names may have influenced the development and spread of the surname.

One notable individual with the surname Barreras was Diego de Barreras, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who lived in the 16th century. He participated in the conquest of Mexico and served under Hernán Cortés.

Another prominent figure was Tomás Barreras, a Spanish painter and engraver who lived from 1605 to 1670. He was known for his religious paintings and worked in various churches and monasteries throughout Spain.

Juan de Barreras, a Spanish writer and historian, was born in 1643 and died in 1721. He wrote extensively on Spanish history and was appointed as the official chronicler of the Kingdom of Castile.

In the 18th century, José Barreras y Figueroa (1712-1790) was a Spanish military officer and diplomat who served as the governor of several provinces in Spain and held important diplomatic positions.

Manuel Barreras (1786-1854) was a Spanish writer and journalist who played a significant role in the development of the Spanish press during the 19th century. He founded several newspapers and advocated for freedom of the press.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Barreras

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

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 Barreras was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 9.75% 341
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.29% 10
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 3.92% 137
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.51% 18
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.69% 24
Hispanic Origin 84.84% 2,966

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 Barreras has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 9.75% 10.81% -10.31%
Black 0.29% 0.22% 27.45%
Asian and Pacific Islander 3.92% 3.40% 14.21%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.51% 0.51% 0.00%
Two or More Races 0.69% 0.90% -26.42%
Hispanic 84.84% 84.16% 0.80%

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

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

Reference this page

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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!

"Barreras last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 26, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/barreras-surname-popularity/.

"Barreras last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/barreras-surname-popularity/. Accessed 26 July, 2024

Barreras last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/barreras-surname-popularity/.

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