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

Cuéllar, 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 Cuéllar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Cuéllar in America

Cuéllar is the 1609th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Cuéllar surname appeared 22,324 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Cuéllar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Cuéllar 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 Cuéllar

The surname Cuellar originated in Spain, specifically in the region of Castile-Leon. It is derived from the place name Cuellar, a town located in the province of Segovia. The name can be traced back to the 11th century when the area was part of the Kingdom of Castile.

Cuellar was an important medieval town and its name is believed to come from the Latin word "collis," meaning hill or elevation, referring to the town's location on a hilltop. The earliest known mention of the town's name dates back to a document from 1088.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Cuellar can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías, a medieval census of noble landholdings in Castile, compiled between 1352 and 1354. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Cuellar, indicating that the name was already well-established by that time.

In the 15th century, Juan de Cuellar (c. 1430-1492) was a prominent Spanish nobleman and military commander who served under King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. He played a significant role in the conquest of Granada, the last Muslim-ruled territory in the Iberian Peninsula.

During the 16th century, Francisco de Cuellar (c. 1510-1587) was a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied the expeditions of Hernando de Soto and Hernando de Alarcón in their exploration of the southern regions of what is now the United States.

Another notable figure was Pedro de Cuellar (c. 1550-1628), a Spanish architect and engineer who designed several important buildings in Seville, including the Casa de Contratación, which served as the administrative headquarters for Spain's trade with the Americas.

In the 18th century, José de Cuellar (1717-1801) was a prominent Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of Puerto Rico from 1776 to 1783.

Throughout history, the surname Cuellar has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including nobility, military leaders, explorers, architects, and colonial administrators, reflecting the diverse contributions of those bearing this name to Spanish history and culture.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Cuéllar

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

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

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