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

Heredia, 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 Heredia surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Heredia in America

Heredia is the 2061st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Heredia surname appeared 17,506 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Heredia.

We can also compare 2010 data for Heredia 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 Heredia

The surname Heredia has its origins in Spain, dating back to the 8th century during the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed to be derived from the Arabic word "harad" or "herad," which means a rocky or stony area. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived in or near a rocky region.

During the Reconquista, the Christian rulers of Spain began to adopt and adapt many Arabic names and words into Spanish. The name Heredia likely emerged as a result of this cultural integration. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript from the Codex of Santiago de Compostela.

In the 13th century, the name Heredia appeared in various historical documents in the region of Navarre, located in northern Spain. This may indicate that the name originated or gained prominence in that area. One notable figure from this time was Pedro Heredia, a military leader who participated in the conquest of the Kingdom of Granada in the late 15th century.

As the Spanish Empire expanded into the Americas, the name Heredia was carried across the Atlantic. One of the earliest recorded examples of this is Pedro de Heredia, a Spanish conquistador who founded the city of Cartagena de Indias in present-day Colombia in 1533.

Another prominent figure in history with the surname Heredia was José María Heredia y Heredia (1803-1839), a Cuban poet and playwright who is considered one of the most influential figures of the Romantic movement in Spanish American literature. He was born in Santiago de Cuba and spent much of his life in exile due to his political beliefs.

In the 19th century, the name Heredia also gained recognition in Mexico. Ignacio Ramírez Heredia (1818-1879) was a Mexican writer, politician, and philosopher who played a significant role in the Reform War and the establishment of a secular state in Mexico.

Other notable individuals with the surname Heredia include Juan de Heredia (1480-1554), a Spanish military leader and conquistador who served as the first governor of Cartagena de Indias, and Francisco Heredia Dávila (1570-1646), a Spanish jurist and author who served as a judge in the Viceroyalty of Peru.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Heredia

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

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

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

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