Brillantes last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Brillantes

A surname derived from the Spanish word for "brilliant" or "shining".

Brillantes, 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 Brillantes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Brillantes in America

Brillantes is the 51176th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Brillantes surname appeared 407 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 Brillantes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Brillantes 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 51176 61855 -18.90%
Count 407 303 29.30%
Proportion per 100k 0.14 0.11 24.00%

The history of the last name Brillantes

The surname Brillantes is believed to have originated in Spain, likely during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "brillante," which means "brilliant" or "shining." This suggests that the name may have been originally given to someone who had a bright or radiant personality, or perhaps someone who worked with shiny or reflective materials.

One of the earliest known records of the Brillantes surname dates back to the 15th century, where it appears in a document from the region of Catalonia in northeastern Spain. This document mentions a certain Juan Brillantes, who was a merchant and landowner in the city of Barcelona.

In the 16th century, the Brillantes name can be found in various records from the Spanish colonies in the Americas, particularly in Mexico and the Philippines. This indicates that some individuals bearing this surname were among the early Spanish settlers and explorers who ventured to these regions during the era of colonization.

One notable individual with the Brillantes surname was Diego Brillantes, a Spanish soldier and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to conquer Mexico in the early 16th century. Diego Brillantes played a significant role in several battles against the Aztec Empire and was later granted land and titles by the Spanish crown for his service.

In the Philippines, the Brillantes surname can be traced back to the 17th century, when Spanish rule was established in the archipelago. One of the earliest known Brillantes in the Philippines was Francisco Brillantes, a Catholic missionary who arrived in the country in the mid-1600s and worked to convert indigenous populations to Christianity.

Another notable figure was María Brillantes, a renowned artist and painter from the Spanish colonial era in the Philippines, who lived during the late 18th century. Her intricate and vibrant works depicting religious scenes and local landscapes were highly praised and are now considered important examples of Filipino colonial art.

In more recent history, the Brillantes surname has been associated with several prominent individuals in various fields. For example, Miguel Brillantes (1889-1962) was a renowned Filipino writer and playwright who made significant contributions to the development of Philippine literature in the early 20th century.

Overall, the surname Brillantes has a rich history spanning several centuries and regions, reflecting the influence of Spanish colonization and the movement of people across continents during that era.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Brillantes

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

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 Brillantes was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 4.67% 19
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 82.80% 337
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 6.63% 27
Hispanic Origin 5.41% 22

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 Brillantes has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 4.67% 6.60% -34.25%
Black (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 82.80% 83.83% -1.24%
American Indian and Alaskan Native (S)% 0.00% (S)%
Two or More Races 6.63% 6.60% 0.45%
Hispanic 5.41% 2.97% 58.23%

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

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

Reference this page

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"Brillantes last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 21, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/brillantes-surname-popularity/.

"Brillantes last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/brillantes-surname-popularity/. Accessed 21 November, 2024

Brillantes last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/brillantes-surname-popularity/.

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