Bulnes last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Bulnes

A Spanish topographical surname derived from the town of Bulnes in Cantabria.

Bulnes, 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 Bulnes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bulnes in America

Bulnes is the 40554th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bulnes surname appeared 539 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 Bulnes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bulnes 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 40554 47654 -16.10%
Count 539 418 25.29%
Proportion per 100k 0.18 0.15 18.18%

The history of the last name Bulnes

The surname Bulnes is of Spanish origin, and its roots can be traced back to the medieval period in the region of Asturias, located in northern Spain. This name is derived from the Asturian toponym "Bulnes," which refers to a picturesque village nestled in the Picos de Europa mountain range.

The earliest recorded instances of the Bulnes surname date back to the 13th century, where it appeared in various historical documents and manuscripts from the Asturias region. It is believed that the name originated as a locational surname, indicating that the first bearers of this name hailed from the village of Bulnes or its surrounding areas.

One notable historical reference to the Bulnes name can be found in the "Becerro de las Behetrías," a medieval census document from the 14th century that recorded landowners and their properties in the regions of Castile and León. This record mentions several individuals bearing the Bulnes surname, suggesting their prominence in the area during that time period.

In the 16th century, the Bulnes family played a significant role in the exploration and colonization of the Americas. Juan de Bulnes, born in Asturias in 1520, was among the first Spanish settlers in the region now known as Colombia. His descendants went on to establish themselves in various parts of South America, contributing to the spread of the Bulnes surname throughout the continent.

Another prominent figure with the Bulnes surname was Manuel Bulnes Prieto, a Chilean military officer and politician who served as the President of Chile from 1841 to 1851. Born in Concepción, Chile, in 1799, he was a descendant of the Spanish colonists who carried the Bulnes name to the New World.

In the realm of literature, José Bulnes Álvarez, born in Asturias in 1857, gained recognition as a renowned Spanish writer and journalist. His works, which delved into the history and culture of his native Asturias, helped preserve the region's rich heritage and contributed to the collective memory of the Bulnes name.

Moving into the 20th century, Javier Bulnes Concha, a Chilean architect and urban planner born in 1916, left an indelible mark on the architectural landscape of Santiago, Chile. His designs, which combined modern aesthetics with traditional Spanish influences, earned him numerous accolades and cemented the Bulnes name in the annals of Chilean architecture.

Throughout its long history, the Bulnes surname has maintained a strong presence in various regions of Spain, as well as in the Americas, where its bearers have made significant contributions across diverse fields, from exploration and politics to literature and architecture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bulnes

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

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 Bulnes was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 10.58% 57
Non-Hispanic Black Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races (S)% (S)
Hispanic Origin 87.94% 474

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

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 10.58% 9.09% 15.15%
Black (S)% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander (S)% (S)% (S)%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races (S)% (S)% (S)%
Hispanic 87.94% 89.00% -1.20%

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

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

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"Bulnes last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/bulnes-surname-popularity/.

"Bulnes last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/bulnes-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

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

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