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

Grijalba, 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 Grijalba surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Grijalba in America

Grijalba is the 46404th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Grijalba surname appeared 459 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 Grijalba.

We can also compare 2010 data for Grijalba 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 Grijalba

The surname GRIJALBA has its origins in Spain, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish words 'grijalva' and 'grijalbo', which referred to a particular type of limestone or gravel found in certain regions of Spain.

The name GRIJALBA was initially concentrated in the northern Spanish provinces of Burgos, Palencia, and Valladolid, where the limestone deposits were abundant. As families migrated and settled in other parts of Spain, the name spread to different regions, though it remained primarily associated with its northern roots.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname GRIJALBA can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías, a 14th-century census of landowners and vassals in the Kingdom of Castile. This document mentions several individuals with the surname, indicating its established presence in the region at that time.

During the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the name GRIJALBA was Juan de Grijalba, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés. He played a significant role in the expedition to the Yucatán peninsula and is mentioned in several historical accounts from that era.

In the 17th century, the GRIJALBA name appeared in the records of the Spanish Inquisition, where a certain Diego de Grijalba was accused of heresy and brought before the tribunal in 1624. This incident provides insight into the presence of the surname during that turbulent period in Spanish history.

Another prominent individual with the GRIJALBA surname was José de Grijalba, a Spanish painter and engraver who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His works, which included religious paintings and engravings, can be found in several churches and museums across Spain.

In the 19th century, Manuel de Grijalba y Vigil was a Spanish politician and historian who served as a deputy in the Cortes (Spanish parliament) and authored several books on Spanish history and politics. He was born in 1808 and died in 1876.

Throughout the centuries, the GRIJALBA surname has been associated with various place names and older spellings, such as Grijalva, Grijalvo, and Grijálvarez, reflecting the regional variations and linguistic evolution of the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Grijalba

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

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

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

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