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

Cano, 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 Cano surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cano in America

Cano is the 931st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cano surname appeared 37,368 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 Cano.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cano 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 Cano

The surname Cano is of Spanish origin, derived from the Latin word "canna" meaning "reed" or "cane." Its earliest recorded use can be traced back to the 8th century in the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in the regions of Castile and Andalusia.

During the Reconquista, the period when Christian kingdoms in the Iberian Peninsula sought to regain control from the Moors, many Canos fought alongside the Spanish forces. One notable figure from this era was Rodrigo Cano de Valladolid, a renowned knight who participated in the conquest of Granada in 1492.

As the Spanish Empire expanded throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, the Cano surname spread across the Americas, particularly in regions like Mexico, Peru, and Colombia. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in the New World was Juan Cano, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 1500s.

In the realm of literature, the Cano surname gained prominence with Alonso Cano, a 17th-century Spanish painter, sculptor, and architect who is considered one of the leading figures of the Golden Age of Spanish art. Another notable figure was Juan Sebastián Elcano, a Spanish explorer who completed the first circumnavigation of the Earth after Ferdinand Magellan's death in 1522.

The Cano surname also has a strong presence in the world of music and arts. Among the notable figures are the Mexican composer and conductor Eduardo Cano (1890-1962), known for his contributions to the Mexican folk music genre, and the Colombian artist and sculptor Edgar Cano (1938-2021), whose works have been exhibited worldwide.

Other notable individuals with the Cano surname include the Venezuelan politician and diplomat José Rafael Cano (1863-1934), who served as the President of Venezuela from 1899 to 1903, and the Spanish philosopher and essayist José Cano (1829-1904), who was known for his works on ethics and philosophy of law.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cano

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

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

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

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