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

Cortijo, 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 Cortijo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cortijo in America

Cortijo is the 41959th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cortijo surname appeared 518 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 Cortijo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cortijo 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 Cortijo

The surname Cortijo is of Spanish origin, with its roots traced back to the 11th century in the regions of Andalusia and Castile. The word "cortijo" itself is derived from the Latin word "cohorticum," meaning an enclosed area or courtyard. It later evolved to refer to a small rural estate or farmhouse in southern Spain.

During the Reconquista, when Christian kingdoms gradually regained control of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, many new settlements and cortijos were established. It is likely that the surname Cortijo emerged as a way to identify individuals associated with these rural estates or those who worked on or owned such properties.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Cortijo can be found in the Libro de Repartimiento de Sevilla, a manuscript from the 13th century that documented the distribution of land and property in Seville after its conquest by the Christian forces in 1248. Several individuals with the surname Cortijo were listed as landowners or residents in the region.

In the 15th century, records show a notable figure named Juan Cortijo, a wealthy landowner and entrepreneur from Seville who played a significant role in the city's economic development. His descendants continued to use the surname and contributed to the expansion of the family's influence in southern Spain.

Another prominent individual with the surname Cortijo was Francisco Cortijo y Valera (1809-1868), a Spanish politician and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1865 to 1866. He was born in Seville and was a member of the conservative Moderate Party.

In the realm of literature, Miguel Cortijo (1923-2008) was a renowned Spanish poet and writer from Córdoba. His works, which often explored themes of nature and rural life, earned him numerous accolades, including the prestigious Cervantes Prize in 1986.

The surname Cortijo has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Cortijo de Cura, Cortijo de los Frailes, and Cortijo de Valdeinfierno, reflecting the historical significance of these rural estates and their connection to the surname's origins.

While the surname Cortijo is predominantly found in Spain, it has also spread to other parts of the world due to migration and the Spanish diaspora. Individuals bearing this surname can be found in various countries, particularly those with significant Spanish influence or heritage.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cortijo

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Cortijo, 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!