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

Bernal, 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 Bernal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bernal in America

Bernal is the 873rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bernal surname appeared 39,693 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 13 people would have the surname Bernal.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bernal 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 Bernal

The surname Bernal originates from Spain and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is a locational name derived from the Spanish place name Bernal, which in turn comes from the Latin word "barnalis" meaning "a field for storing grain and crops."

The earliest recorded instance of the name Bernal can be found in a charter document from the year 1166, which mentions a landowner named Petrus de Bernal in the region of Castile. This suggests that the name was already well-established in Spain by the 12th century.

In the 13th century, the name appears in various official records and manuscripts, including the Libro de la Montería, a hunting treatise written for King Alfonso XI of Castile in the 14th century. This text mentions a place called "Bernal de Parraces" in the province of Soria.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Bernal surname was Diego Bernal, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. He was born around 1495 in Jerez de la Frontera, Andalusia.

Another notable figure with the Bernal surname was Agustín Bernal del Río y Rivas (1567-1655), a Spanish theologian and writer who served as the Bishop of Calahorra and La Calzada in the early 17th century.

In the 18th century, José Bernal y Velázquez (1710-1782) was a prominent Spanish architect and engineer who designed several notable buildings in Madrid, including the Royal Palace of Aranjuez.

The Bernal surname also has a rich history in Latin America, where it was brought by Spanish colonists and immigrants. One notable figure was José María Bernal (1794-1865), a Mexican politician and military leader who served as the Governor of Jalisco during the Mexican-American War.

Another significant bearer of the Bernal name was Marcelino Bernal y Uraga (1842-1904), a Mexican businessman and industrialist who played a crucial role in the development of the mining industry in northern Mexico during the late 19th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bernal

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

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

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

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