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

Galego, 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 Galego surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Galego in America

Galego is the 82908th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Galego surname appeared 227 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 Galego.

We can also compare 2010 data for Galego 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 Galego

The surname Galego has its origins in the Iberian Peninsula, specifically in the region of Galicia, located in the northwestern corner of modern-day Spain. The name is derived from the Spanish and Portuguese word "gallego," meaning "Galician," referring to someone from Galicia or of Galician descent.

Galicia has a rich cultural heritage dating back to the ancient Celtic tribes that inhabited the area before the Roman conquest. The name Galego likely originated during the medieval period when surnames became more widespread, identifying individuals by their place of origin, occupation, or other distinguishing characteristics.

One of the earliest recorded references to the surname Galego can be found in the "Libro de las Behetrías de Castilla," a 14th-century medieval manuscript that documented land ownership and taxation in the Kingdom of Castile. This document mentions individuals with the surname Galego, suggesting that the name was already in use by that time.

In the 15th century, the name appears in various historical records and documents related to the Reconquista, the centuries-long campaign by Christian kingdoms to regain control of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors. Some notable individuals bearing the surname Galego from this era include Diego Galego, a military commander who fought against the Moors in the Battle of Guadalete in 1482, and Juan Galego, a nobleman and landowner in the region of Extremadura.

During the Age of Exploration in the 16th and 17th centuries, many Spaniards and Portuguese with the surname Galego accompanied explorers and settlers to the New World, contributing to the spread of the name across the Americas. One such individual was Pedro Galego, a Portuguese sailor who accompanied Vasco da Gama on his historic voyage to India in 1498.

In the 19th century, a notable figure with the surname Galego was Benito Galego y González, a Spanish writer and journalist born in Galicia in 1835. He was known for his works on Galician history and culture, as well as his advocacy for the recognition of the Galician language.

Another prominent individual bearing the surname Galego was Manuel Galego Carrillo, a Spanish painter and sculptor born in 1890 in Seville. He was renowned for his works depicting scenes from Andalusian life and his contributions to the Andalusian Regionalist movement in art.

Throughout history, the surname Galego has been associated with individuals from various walks of life, including soldiers, sailors, writers, artists, and nobility, all sharing a connection to the rich cultural heritage of Galicia and the Iberian Peninsula.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Galego

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

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

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

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