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

Galvez, 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 Galvez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Galvez in America

Galvez is the 1754th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Galvez surname appeared 20,425 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Galvez.

We can also compare 2010 data for Galvez 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 Galvez

The surname Galvez is of Spanish origin, originating from the region of Galicia in northwestern Spain. It likely emerged during the medieval period when surnames became hereditary.

Galvez is derived from the Latin personal name "Gualterius" or "Gualterus," which evolved into the Spanish name Gualter or Galter. The suffix "-ez" indicates a patronymic surname, meaning "son of." Thus, Galvez originally referred to the son of Gualter or Galter.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Galvez can be found in the 13th-century Libro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a medieval document listing landholders in the Kingdom of Castile. The name is also present in various other historical records from the region.

In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Galvez was Alonso Galvez, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of the Canary Islands. Another prominent individual was Mariano Matías Galvez, a Spanish military officer and governor of Guatemala from 1779 to 1783.

During the 16th century, the name Galvez appeared in the Americas as Spanish colonization and exploration expanded. One famous bearer was José de Gálvez, a Spanish colonial administrator and Visitor-General of New Spain (present-day Mexico and parts of the United States) from 1765 to 1771.

Another notable figure was Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, a Spanish military leader and colonial governor who played a crucial role in the American Revolutionary War, aiding the American colonists against the British. He was born in 1746 in Macharaviaya, Spain, and died in 1786 in Mexico City.

In the 19th century, José Gálvez Montes de Oca, a Peruvian military leader and politician, served as the President of Peru from 1867 to 1868.

The surname Galvez has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Galvez de Soriente in the province of Guadalajara and Galvez de la Jara in the province of Toledo.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Galvez

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

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

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

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