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

Capellán, 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 Capellán surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Capellán in America

Capellán is the 15639th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Capellán surname appeared 1,868 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Capellán.

We can also compare 2010 data for Capellán 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 Capellán

The surname CAPELLAN originated in the Catalonia region of Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Catalan word 'capellà', meaning 'chaplain' or 'priest'. This suggests that the name was likely adopted by individuals who served as chaplains or priests in religious institutions.

The earliest recorded instances of the name CAPELLAN can be traced back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers of this surname was Pere Capellà, a notable figure mentioned in historical documents from the city of Barcelona in the year 1284.

During the 14th century, the CAPELLAN surname appears in several records from the Kingdom of Aragon, which encompassed parts of modern-day Spain and France. One such example is Bernat Capellà, a landowner from the town of Lleida, whose name is documented in a land transaction from 1372.

In the 15th century, the name CAPELLAN gained prominence in the neighboring region of Valencia. A notable bearer of this surname during this period was Jaume Capellà, a respected scholar and theologian who served as a professor at the University of Valencia in the late 1400s.

As the CAPELLAN family spread throughout Spain, variations in spelling emerged, such as Capellan, Capellan, and Capellan. These variations were often influenced by regional dialects and local pronunciations.

One of the most famous individuals to bear the CAPELLAN surname was Pedro Capellán, a renowned painter and sculptor from the city of Seville, who lived during the 16th century (c. 1500-1570). His artistic works, particularly his religious sculptures, are highly regarded and can be found in several churches and museums across Spain.

Another notable bearer of the CAPELLAN surname was Francisco Capellán, a Spanish soldier and explorer who accompanied the famous conquistador Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to Mexico in the early 16th century (c. 1490-1560).

In the 17th century, the CAPELLAN name gained recognition in the field of literature, with Juan Capellán, a renowned Spanish poet and playwright (c. 1620-1690), who gained acclaim for his works exploring themes of love, honor, and societal values.

As the CAPELLAN surname spread beyond Spain, it was adopted by families in other Spanish-speaking regions, including parts of Latin America and the Caribbean. One notable example is Miguel Capellán, a prominent Cuban writer and journalist from the 19th century (1834-1899), known for his contributions to the island's literary and cultural landscape.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Capellán

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!