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

Farfán, 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 Farfán surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Farfán in America

Farfán is the 8135th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Farfán surname appeared 4,075 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Farfán.

We can also compare 2010 data for Farfán 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 Farfán

The surname Farfan has its origins in Spain, dating back to the medieval period. It is a locational name derived from the village of Farfan, located in the province of Badajoz, in the region of Extremadura. The name is believed to have evolved from the Arabic word "farfana," which means "butterfly" or "moth."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Farfan can be found in the "Libro de la Behetría" (Book of Behetría), a 13th-century document that lists the names of landowners and their properties in the Kingdom of Castile. This document includes references to individuals bearing the surname Farfan, suggesting that the name was already established in the region during that time.

In the 15th century, the name Farfan gained prominence with the rise of a noble family from the village of Farfan. One notable member of this family was Juan Farfan de los Godos (c. 1450-1520), a Spanish soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of the Canary Islands and later settled in the West Indies.

Another historical figure associated with the surname Farfan is Pedro Farfan de los Godos (c. 1475-1548), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who played a significant role in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro. He was granted extensive lands and titles by the Spanish Crown for his contributions.

In the 16th century, the Farfan family expanded their influence to the Americas, with members settling in various Spanish colonies. One notable individual was Juan Farfan de los Godos (c. 1520-1592), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who participated in the conquest of Chile and later served as the governor of Tucumán (present-day Argentina) from 1573 to 1577.

Another noteworthy figure was Diego Farfan de los Godos (c. 1540-1615), a Spanish soldier and administrator who served as the governor of Cartagena de Indias (present-day Colombia) from 1604 to 1609.

As the Farfan family grew and dispersed across Spain and its colonies, variations in the spelling of the name emerged, including Farfante, Farfan de los Godos, and Farfante de los Godos. These variations often reflected regional linguistic differences or the adoption of additional surnames to denote family lineage or territorial holdings.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Farfán

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

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

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

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