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

Chile, 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 Chile surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Chile in America

Chile is the 95115th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Chile surname appeared 192 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 Chile.

We can also compare 2010 data for Chile 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 Chile

The surname Chile has its origins in the Spanish language and is derived from the name of the country Chile, which was originally inhabited by the Mapuche people. The name Chile itself is believed to come from the Quechua word "chili," meaning "where the land ends," referring to the geographical location of the country at the southern tip of South America.

The earliest recorded use of the surname Chile can be traced back to the 16th century, shortly after the Spanish conquest of the region. Some of the first documented instances of the name appear in colonial records and manuscripts from that time period, as Spanish settlers and soldiers began to establish themselves in the area.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the surname Chile became more widespread as families with this name migrated to other parts of the Spanish Empire. Notable individuals bearing the name include Diego de Chile, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Chile in the 1540s, and Juan de Chile, a Spanish soldier who fought against the Mapuche resistance in the late 16th century.

As the centuries passed, the surname Chile continued to be associated with individuals of Spanish descent, particularly those with ties to the region of Chile or other parts of South America. One notable figure was José Miguel de la Barra Chile, a Chilean politician and diplomat who served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs in the late 19th century (1830-1901).

Another prominent individual was Gabriela Mistral, a Chilean poet and educator who was the first Latin American to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1945 (1889-1957). While her birth name was Lucila Godoy Alcayaga, she adopted the surname Mistral as her literary pseudonym, which some sources suggest was inspired by the French word for "wind" or the Chilean word for "mist."

In more recent history, the name Chile has been associated with individuals from various backgrounds and nationalities, although its strongest ties remain to the country of Chile and the Spanish-speaking world. It is a surname that carries a rich cultural heritage and a connection to the history and geography of South America.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Chile

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

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

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

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