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

Capilla, 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 Capilla surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Capilla in America

Capilla is the 39773rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Capilla surname appeared 552 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 Capilla.

We can also compare 2010 data for Capilla 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 Capilla

The surname CAPILLA originated in Spain, deriving from the Spanish word "capilla" which means "chapel" or "small church." It is believed to have originated as an occupational surname for someone who lived or worked near a chapel, or perhaps for a chapel keeper.

The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th century in various regions of Spain, particularly in areas like Castile and Aragon. One of the earliest known bearers was Pedro Capilla, a Spanish nobleman who lived in the late 13th century and was mentioned in historical records from the Kingdom of Aragon.

In the 14th century, the name appeared in several medieval manuscripts, including the "Libro de Repartimiento" which documented the distribution of land and properties in the newly conquered territories of the Kingdom of Valencia after the Reconquista.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the CAPILLA name spread across other parts of Spain and the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Notable individuals from this period include Juan Capilla, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century, and Rodrigo Capilla, a prominent Spanish painter and architect who worked on several church commissions in the late 16th century.

In the 17th century, the CAPILLA surname gained further recognition with individuals like Pedro Capilla y Portocarrero, a Spanish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Thirty Years' War, and Tomás Capilla, a renowned composer and organist from Madrid who contributed significantly to the development of Spanish Baroque music.

As the Spanish Empire expanded, the CAPILLA name also spread to other parts of the world, including Latin America and the Philippines. One notable figure from this era was José Capilla y Castellanos, a Spanish-born Jesuit missionary who played a crucial role in the establishment of the Catholic Church in the Philippines in the late 17th century.

Throughout history, the CAPILLA surname has been associated with various occupations, including clergy, artists, military personnel, and landowners, reflecting its diverse origins and the widespread influence of Spanish culture and language across multiple continents.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Capilla

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

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

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

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