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

Contreras, 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 Contreras surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Contreras in America

Contreras is the 229th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Contreras surname appeared 130,164 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 44 people would have the surname Contreras.

We can also compare 2010 data for Contreras 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 Contreras

The surname Contreras originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish word "contrera," which means "an encounter" or "a confrontation." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near a place where a significant historical event or battle occurred.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Contreras can be found in the Repartimiento de Sevilla, a document from the 13th century that recorded the distribution of land and properties among the conquistadors who participated in the conquest of Seville in 1248. This indicates that the name was already in use by that time.

In the 15th century, the Contreras family played a significant role in the conquest of the Canary Islands. Juan de Contreras, born around 1430, was a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Gran Canaria and Tenerife. He is known for his role in the Battle of Acentejo in 1494, where he fought against the indigenous Guanches.

Another notable figure with the surname Contreras is Hernando de Contreras, a Spanish conquistador who was born in Segovia in the late 15th century. He accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico and participated in the siege of Tenochtitlan in 1521.

In the 16th century, Francisco de Contreras was a Spanish military officer and explorer who served as the governor of Chile from 1629 to 1630. He was born in Segovia around 1585 and played a crucial role in the Spanish colonization of South America.

During the 17th century, Juan Contreras y Ayala, born around 1610 in Spain, was a renowned poet and playwright. He is best known for his works "El Caballero de Olmedo" and "La Mejor Espigadera."

The surname Contreras has been found in various historical records, including the Libro de Repartimiento de Jerez de la Frontera from the 13th century, where it appears as "Contreras." This suggests that the name has maintained its original spelling throughout the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Contreras

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

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

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

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