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

Bonilla, 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 Bonilla surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bonilla in America

Bonilla is the 664th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bonilla surname appeared 51,475 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 17 people would have the surname Bonilla.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bonilla 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 Bonilla

The surname Bonilla originated in Spain and has its roots in the Latin word "bona" which means "good". It is believed to have originally referred to someone who lived in a good or prosperous area.

The name can be traced back to the 11th century in various regions of Spain, particularly in the northern regions of Castile and León. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name was in a medieval Spanish manuscript from the year 1087, which mentioned a nobleman named Rodrigo Bonilla.

In the 12th century, the name appeared in several historical documents from the Kingdom of Castile, such as land grants and records of noble families. It is likely that the name spread to other parts of Spain during this period as a result of migration and the expansion of the Reconquista.

The surname Bonilla is also associated with several place names in Spain, such as Bonilla de la Sierra, a municipality in the province of Ávila, and Bonilla del Campo, a town in the province of Soria. These place names may have contributed to the development of the surname.

One notable individual with the surname Bonilla was Alonso de Bonilla, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the exploration of Central America and Mexico in the early 16th century. He was born in Seville, Spain, around 1490 and died in 1542.

Another prominent figure was Juan de Bonilla, a Spanish military commander and administrator who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1619 to 1625. He was born in Málaga, Spain, in the late 16th century and died in 1629.

In the 17th century, Sebastián de Bonilla was a Spanish painter known for his religious works, such as the altarpiece in the Church of San Nicolás de Bari in Seville. He was born in Seville in 1615 and died in 1677.

In the 19th century, Adolfo Bonilla y San Martín (1875-1926) was a Spanish historian, philologist, and literary critic who made significant contributions to the study of Spanish literature and culture.

Finally, Gerardo Bonilla (1929-2021) was a renowned Colombian painter and sculptor known for his abstract and figurative works. He was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and his artwork has been exhibited in galleries and museums around the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bonilla

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

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

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

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