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

Espadas, 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 Espadas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Espadas in America

Espadas is the 53072nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Espadas surname appeared 390 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 Espadas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Espadas 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 Espadas

The surname Espadas is of Spanish origin, derived from the Spanish word "espada," meaning "sword." It dates back to the medieval era in Spain, specifically to the regions of Andalusia and Castile.

The name likely originated as a descriptive surname given to individuals who were skilled swordsmen, sword makers, or had some association with the weapon. In medieval times, swords held great significance in warfare, knighthood, and symbolism.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Espadas can be found in the historic Catastro de Ensenada, a census-like document from the mid-18th century that recorded population and economic data in Spain. This document lists several individuals with the surname Espadas in various municipalities.

In the 16th century, there are records of an Andrés de Espadas, a Spanish soldier and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico. He is mentioned in various chronicles and accounts from that era.

During the Spanish Renaissance, a notable figure with this surname was Juan de Espadas (1570-1642), a playwright and poet from Seville. His works, though not widely renowned today, were part of the vibrant literary scene of that period.

In the 19th century, Francisca Espadas (1820-1892) was a Spanish-born woman who migrated to California during the Gold Rush era. She became a landowner and prominent figure in the early development of Los Angeles.

Another historical figure bearing this surname was José Espadas (1868-1939), a Spanish politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of the Interior during the Second Spanish Republic in the early 20th century.

Throughout history, the surname Espadas has also been associated with various locations, such as the village of Espadas in the province of Seville, Spain, and the Espadas River in the Philippines, which was likely named after a Spanish explorer or settler with this surname.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Espadas

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

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

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