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

Barrientos, 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 Barrientos surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Barrientos in America

Barrientos is the 1905th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Barrientos surname appeared 18,877 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Barrientos.

We can also compare 2010 data for Barrientos 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 Barrientos

The surname Barrientos is of Spanish origin and dates back to the medieval era in Spain. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "barrientos," which means "muddy or clayey areas." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to people who lived in or near areas with a lot of mud or clay.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Barrientos can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries in various regions of Spain, particularly in the areas of Castile and León. In fact, the name appears in some historical documents from that time period, such as the Becerro de las Behetrías, which was a census-like registry of landowners and vassals in Castile.

One of the earliest notable individuals with the surname Barrientos was Pedro Fernández de Barrientos, a Spanish prelate who lived in the 15th century (c. 1390-1469). He served as the Bishop of Cuenca and later became the Bishop of Segovia. Another prominent figure was Lope de Barrientos (c. 1382-1469), a Spanish Dominican friar, diplomat, and writer who served as the confessor and advisor to King John II of Castile.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the surname Barrientos was also associated with several noble families in Spain. For instance, the Barrientos-Valderrama family held significant land and influence in the region of Andalusia. Additionally, Juan de Barrientos (c. 1475-1542) was a Spanish humanist scholar and historian who wrote about the history of Spain and the New World.

As Spanish exploration and colonization expanded in the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Barrientos began to appear in various parts of the Americas and the Philippines. One notable example is Rodrigo de Barrientos, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru in the 16th century.

Throughout the centuries, the surname Barrientos has undergone various spelling variations, including Barriento, Barrento, and Barrentos. These variations likely emerged due to regional differences in pronunciation and spelling conventions. Additionally, the name has been associated with certain place names in Spain, such as Barrientos de la Arrizafa and Barrientos de las Arrimadas, which may have influenced the development of the surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Barrientos

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

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

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

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