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

Belez, 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 Belez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Belez in America

Belez is the 82044th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Belez surname appeared 230 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 Belez.

We can also compare 2010 data for Belez 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 Belez

The surname Belez is believed to have originated from the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in Spain and Portugal, during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Arabic word "balas," meaning a type of precious stone or gemstone. This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with individuals involved in the gemstone trade or mining industry.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Belez can be found in the Catalan region of Spain, where it appeared in various documents dating back to the 13th and 14th centuries. For example, a certain Bernat Belez was mentioned in a land registry document from the city of Barcelona in 1287.

In the 15th century, the name Belez was also documented in the Canary Islands, which were under Spanish control at the time. A notable figure bearing this surname was Juan Belez, a military commander who played a significant role in the conquest of the Canary Islands in the late 1400s.

As the Spanish Empire expanded across the Atlantic, the name Belez was carried to the Americas. One of the earliest known individuals with this surname in the New World was Diego Belez, a Spanish colonist who settled in Havana, Cuba, in the early 1500s.

In Portugal, the surname Belez can be traced back to the 16th century, with records showing individuals bearing this name in the northern regions of the country. A prominent figure from this era was Pedro Belez, a Portuguese navigator and explorer who participated in several expeditions to the East Indies and the Indian Ocean in the mid-1500s.

Another noteworthy individual with the surname Belez was Juan Belez de Guevara, a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of the Captaincy General of Guatemala in the late 17th century.

Over the centuries, the surname Belez has undergone various spelling variations, including Beles, Belés, and Bellez, reflecting regional linguistic differences and the influence of other languages on its orthography.

Overall, the surname Belez, with its roots in the Iberian Peninsula and its historical associations with the gemstone trade, exploration, and colonial endeavors, has a rich and fascinating history spanning multiple centuries and geographical regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Belez

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

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

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

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