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

Feliz, 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 Feliz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Feliz in America

Feliz is the 6452nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Feliz surname appeared 5,261 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Feliz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Feliz 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 Feliz

The surname Feliz is of Portuguese origin, deriving from the word "feliz" which means "happy" or "joyful" in Portuguese. It likely originated in the late 12th or early 13th century during the formation of hereditary surnames in the region of modern-day Portugal.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Feliz surname can be found in a document from the year 1256, which mentions a nobleman named Rodrigo Feliz who held lands near the city of Coimbra. This suggests the surname was already in use among the aristocratic classes by the mid-13th century.

During the Age of Discovery in the 15th and 16th centuries, many Portuguese explorers and settlers carried the Feliz surname to various corners of the world as Portugal established its colonial empire. One notable figure was João Feliz, a Portuguese navigator born in 1490 who accompanied Ferdinand Magellan on his famous voyage of circumnavigation in 1519-1522.

In the 17th century, a branch of the Feliz family settled in the Spanish territories of the Americas, where the spelling of the name was sometimes altered to the Spanish form "Feliz". One such individual was Pedro Feliz, a Spanish colonist born in 1625 who became a prominent landowner in the region of modern-day Mexico.

The Feliz surname also found its way to Brazil, where it remains a relatively common name today. One of the earliest recorded instances in Brazil was João Feliz da Silva, a Portuguese colonist born in 1678 who established a successful sugar plantation in the northeastern region of the country.

Another notable figure bearing the Feliz surname was Maria Feliz, a Portuguese woman born in 1745 who became a highly respected educator and pioneer in the field of female education in Portugal. She established one of the first schools for girls in Lisbon and was recognized for her efforts to promote literacy and learning among women.

Throughout its history, the Feliz surname has been carried by individuals from various walks of life, including artists, scholars, soldiers, and statesmen. While it originated in Portugal, it has since spread to many parts of the world, reflecting the global reach of Portuguese exploration and colonization in past centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Feliz

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

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

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