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

Espina, 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 Espina surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Espina in America

Espina is the 23167th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Espina surname appeared 1,101 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 Espina.

We can also compare 2010 data for Espina 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 Espina

The surname Espina originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "espina," which means "thorn." This suggests that the name may have initially been used as a nickname or descriptive name for someone who lived near a thorny plant or worked with thorns.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Espina surname can be found in the Becerro de Behetrias, a 14th-century census document from the Kingdom of Castile. This document mentions individuals with the surname Espina living in various villages and towns across northern Spain.

In the 15th century, the surname Espina appeared in the records of the Spanish Inquisition. Several individuals with this name were investigated or prosecuted by the Inquisition during this period, although the specific details of their cases are not well documented.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Espina surname spread throughout Spain and its colonies in the Americas. One notable individual from this time was Alonso de Espina, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru in the 1530s.

In the 18th century, Juan de Espina was a prominent Spanish painter known for his religious works and portraits. He was born in Seville in 1714 and died in Madrid in 1783.

Another notable figure with the Espina surname was Conrado Espina, a Spanish novelist and literary critic who lived from 1884 to 1963. He was a member of the Generation of '98, a group of influential Spanish writers and intellectuals.

In the 20th century, Jaime Espina was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Congress of Deputies, the lower house of the Spanish parliament, from 1996 to 2004. He was born in 1949 and is still alive today.

While the Espina surname is most commonly associated with Spain and Spanish-speaking countries, it can also be found in other parts of the world due to migration and intermarriage. However, its origins can be traced back to the medieval period in Spain, where it likely originated as a descriptive name related to thorns or thorny plants.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Espina

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

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

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

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