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

Gallego, 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 Gallego surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Gallego in America

Gallego is the 5971st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Gallego surname appeared 5,763 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 Gallego.

We can also compare 2010 data for Gallego 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 Gallego

The surname Gallego originates from Spain and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "gallego," which means "a person from Galicia," a region located in northwestern Spain. The name is thought to have first appeared in the 13th century.

The earliest known record of the Gallego surname can be found in the "Libro del Repartimiento," a document from the 13th century that recorded the distribution of land and property in the Kingdom of Valencia after the Christian conquest. Several individuals with the surname Gallego are listed in this document, indicating their presence in the region at that time.

One of the earliest known individuals with the surname Gallego was Pedro Gallego, a Spanish explorer and navigator who participated in the early voyages to the Americas in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Another notable figure was Domingo Gallego, a Spanish missionary who worked in Mexico and Central America in the 16th century.

In the 17th century, Juan Gallego was a prominent Spanish painter known for his religious works and portraiture. He was active in Madrid and Seville during the early part of the century.

During the 18th century, José Gallego y Alvarado was a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Panama from 1765 to 1770.

In the 19th century, Fermin Gallego Gardiel was a Spanish lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Justice in the late 1800s.

The Gallego surname has also been associated with various place names in Spain, particularly in the regions of Galicia and Asturias. Some examples include Gallegos de Huebra, Gallegos de Solmirón, and Gallegos del Pan, among others.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Gallego

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

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

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

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