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

Espinosa, 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 Espinosa surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Espinosa in America

Espinosa is the 896th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Espinosa surname appeared 38,667 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 13 people would have the surname Espinosa.

We can also compare 2010 data for Espinosa 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 Espinosa

The surname Espinosa is of Spanish origin, originating in the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish words "espina" meaning "thorn" and "osa" meaning "bear." The name likely refers to someone who lived near a thorny area or a place with many brambles.

Espinosa is a locational surname, indicating that the original bearers of the name hailed from a place called Espinosa. There are several towns and villages in Spain called Espinosa, such as Espinosa de los Monteros in the province of Burgos and Espinosa de Henares in the province of Guadalajara.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname Espinosa can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a medieval census of landowners and vassals in the Kingdom of Castile, dating back to the 14th century. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Espinosa, suggesting that the name was already well-established by that time.

One notable historical figure with the surname Espinosa was Gaspar de Espinosa (1479-1537), a Spanish painter and sculptor who was active during the Renaissance period. His works can be found in various churches and museums in Spain, including the Cathedral of Seville.

In the 16th century, Diego de Espinosa (1512-1572) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who participated in the conquest of Peru under Francisco Pizarro. He served as a lieutenant and was known for his bravery in battle.

Another prominent individual with the surname Espinosa was Jacinto de Espinosa (1590-1647), a Spanish playwright and poet who was part of the Spanish Golden Age of literature. His works include plays, poetry, and religious texts.

In the 19th century, Benigno Espinosa (1813-1888) was a Mexican politician and military officer who served as the interim President of Mexico for a brief period in 1879.

Lastly, José Espinosa y Tello (1878-1936) was a Spanish philosopher and educator who made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy. He founded the Instituto-Escuela, an experimental school in Madrid that served as a model for educational reform in Spain.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Espinosa

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

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

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

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