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

Bustamante, 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 Bustamante surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Bustamante in America

Bustamante is the 107669th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Bustamante surname appeared 165 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 Bustamante.

We can also compare 2010 data for Bustamante 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 Bustamante

The surname Bustamente is of Spanish origin, with its roots traced back to the 14th century in the Basque region of northern Spain. It is believed to be derived from the Basque words "busta" meaning bush or shrub, and "mendi" meaning mountain or hill, indicating that the name likely referred to someone who lived in or near a mountainous area covered with bushes or shrubs.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Bustamente can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrias, a medieval census document from the 14th century that listed the names of landowners and their properties in the Kingdom of Castile. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Bustamente, indicating that the name was already well-established in the region at that time.

In the 16th century, the name Bustamente appeared in various historical records and documents from the Spanish colonies in the Americas. For example, Juan de Bustamente, a Spanish conquistador, was among the first European settlers in the region that is now Colombia, arriving in the early 1500s.

During the colonial era, the Bustamente family played a significant role in the history of Latin America. One notable figure was José Fernández de Bustamente, a Spanish military officer and governor of the Viceroyalty of New Spain (present-day Mexico) in the late 18th century.

Another prominent individual with the surname Bustamente was Carlos María de Bustamente y Barrena, a Mexican lawyer, politician, and historian who lived from 1774 to 1848. He was a key figure in the Mexican War of Independence and later served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Interior in the newly formed Mexican government.

In the 19th century, the Bustamente name gained recognition in the field of literature. José María Bustamente y Rivas, a Peruvian poet and diplomat born in 1810, was a notable figure in the romantic literary movement in Latin America.

Throughout the centuries, the surname Bustamente has undergone various spelling variations, including Bustamante, Bustamente, Bustamante, and Bustamanti, reflecting the regional and linguistic diversity of the areas where it has been present.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Bustamante

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

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

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

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