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

Castillo, 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 Castillo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Castillo in America

Castillo is the 93rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Castillo surname appeared 230,420 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 78 people would have the surname Castillo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Castillo 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 Castillo

The surname Castillo has its origins in Spain and is derived from the Spanish word "castillo," which means "castle." This name was likely first adopted by individuals who lived near or were associated with a particular castle or fortified structure during the medieval period in Spain.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Castillo can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners in England compiled by order of William the Conqueror in 1086. The entry mentions a landowner named Radulfus de Castello, whose surname translates to "of the castle" in English.

During the 12th and 13th centuries, the surname Castillo began to spread throughout the Iberian Peninsula as the Spanish kingdoms expanded their territories and established new settlements. Some of the earliest recorded bearers of this name include Garci Fernandez de Castillo, a nobleman from the Kingdom of Castile who lived in the late 12th century, and Rodrigo Alvarez de Castillo, a knight who participated in the Reconquista against the Moors in the 13th century.

As the Spanish colonial empire expanded in the 15th and 16th centuries, the surname Castillo was carried to the Americas by explorers, settlers, and conquistadors. One notable figure was Bernal Diaz del Castillo (1492-1584), a Spanish soldier and historian who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico and wrote a firsthand account of the conquest.

Another prominent individual with the surname Castillo was Diego de Castillo Hernández (1551-1618), a Spanish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the development of navigation techniques and the calculation of longitudes.

In the 19th century, José María Castillo y Rada (1810-1888) was a prominent Ecuadorian statesman and politician who served as President of Ecuador from 1859 to 1865.

Throughout history, the surname Castillo has been associated with various place names and locations, such as Castillo de Locubín in the province of Jaén, Spain, and Castillo de Bayuela in the province of Toledo, Spain. These place names often reflected the presence of a castle or fortified structure in the area.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Castillo

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

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

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

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