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

Canyon, 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 Canyon surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Canyon in America

Canyon is the 75317th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Canyon surname appeared 256 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 Canyon.

We can also compare 2010 data for Canyon 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 Canyon

The surname Canyon originates from Spain, where it first appeared in the 13th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "cañón," which means "canyon" or "gorge." The name likely referred to someone who lived near or in a canyon.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Canyon can be found in the Spanish census records from the year 1285, where a family with the name "Cañon" is listed as residing in the region of Aragon.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in several medieval manuscripts from the Kingdom of Castile. One notable example is the "Libro de la Montería" (Book of the Hunt), written in 1342, which mentions a huntsman named Juan Cañon.

The name Canyon also has connections to various place names in Spain. For instance, the village of Cañón de Almadén in the province of Ciudad Real is believed to have been named after a family with the surname Canyon who lived in the area.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Canyon. One of the earliest was Pedro Cañon, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in the 16th century.

In the 17th century, Diego Cañon was a renowned Spanish sculptor known for his intricate woodcarvings in churches across Andalusia.

During the 19th century, Manuel Cañon (1800-1890) was a prominent Spanish politician and served as the mayor of Madrid from 1858 to 1860.

Another notable figure was María Cañon (1885-1963), a Spanish painter and one of the first women to be admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando in Madrid.

In more recent times, Enrique Cañon (1919-2005) was a respected Spanish architect who designed several iconic buildings in Madrid and Barcelona.

While the surname Canyon is primarily of Spanish origin, it has also been adopted by families in other parts of the world, particularly in Latin American countries with Spanish colonial histories.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Canyon

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

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

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

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