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

Bellas, 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 Bellas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bellas in America

Bellas is the 27185th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bellas surname appeared 890 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 Bellas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bellas 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 Bellas

The surname Bellas is believed to have originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is a locational name, derived from the Spanish word "bella," meaning beautiful. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived in or near a place considered particularly scenic or attractive.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Bellas surname can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrias, a medieval Spanish manuscript dating back to the 14th century. This document lists various individuals and their respective places of residence, including a person identified as "Juan Bellas de Sevilla."

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the name appears to have spread across Spain, with records indicating Bellas families residing in regions such as Andalusia, Catalonia, and Aragon. Some notable individuals from this period include Diego Bellas (1560-1632), a renowned painter from Seville, and María Bellas (1585-1648), a celebrated poet and playwright from Valencia.

As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Bellas name also found its way to the Americas. One of the earliest known individuals bearing this surname in the New World was Pedro Bellas (1612-1677), a Spanish settler who established a successful farming operation in what is now Mexico.

In the 19th century, several Bellas families emigrated from Spain to other parts of Europe and the Americas, contributing to the further dissemination of the name. Juan Bellas (1785-1862), a Spanish soldier who fought in the Napoleonic Wars, later settled in France, where he started a family. Another notable figure from this period was Tomás Bellas (1810-1886), a Cuban writer and journalist who played a significant role in the island's independence movement.

Other historical figures bearing the Bellas surname include Alejandro Bellas (1865-1942), a renowned Argentinian architect known for his work on numerous public buildings in Buenos Aires, and María Bellas (1892-1974), a Spanish politician and women's rights activist who served as a member of the Cortes Generales, Spain's parliament.

While the Bellas name may have evolved over time and across different regions, its roots can be traced back to medieval Spain, where it likely originated as a locational surname associated with a place of natural beauty.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bellas

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

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

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

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