Lagos last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Lagos

A surname of Spanish origin referring to someone from the city of Lagos, Nigeria or Portugal.

Lagos, 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 Lagos surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Lagos in America

Lagos is the 9924th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Lagos surname appeared 3,254 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Lagos.

We can also compare 2010 data for Lagos 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 9924 12868 -25.83%
Count 3,254 2,192 39.00%
Proportion per 100k 1.10 0.81 30.37%

The history of the last name Lagos

The surname Lagos has its origins in Spain, specifically the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed to have emerged during the Middle Ages, around the 11th or 12th century. The name is derived from the Spanish word "lago," which means "lake," suggesting that it may have initially been used as a locational surname for individuals residing near a lake or body of water.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Lagos can be found in the Cartulario de Arlanza, a medieval manuscript dating back to the 11th century. This document mentions individuals with the surname Lagos residing in the region of Castile, Spain.

The name Lagos also appears in the Becerro de las Behetrías, a historical record from the 14th century that documented noble families and their landholdings in the Kingdom of Castile. This indicates that the Lagos surname was associated with nobility and landowners during that period.

In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Lagos was Fray Andrés de Lagos, a Spanish Dominican friar and theologian who lived from approximately 1440 to 1510. He was known for his scholarly works and served as a professor at the University of Salamanca.

Another prominent individual with the Lagos surname was Diego de Lagos, a Spanish soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. He played a significant role in the fall of the Aztec Empire.

In the 17th century, Francisco de Lagos was a Spanish painter and engraver active in Madrid. He is known for his religious paintings and engravings commissioned by churches and religious orders.

The surname Lagos also has connections to Portugal, as there is a city called Lagos located in the southern region of the country. It is possible that some individuals with this surname may have originated from or had ties to this Portuguese city.

Throughout history, the surname Lagos has been associated with various place names, such as Lagos de Moreno in Mexico, Lagos in Nigeria, and Lagos in Chile. These locations likely derived their names from the Spanish word "lago," indicating the presence of lakes or bodies of water in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Lagos

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

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 Lagos was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 18.56% 604
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.74% 24
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.54% 50
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.18% 6
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.95% 31
Hispanic Origin 78.03% 2,539

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 Lagos has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 18.56% 25.96% -33.24%
Black 0.74% (S)% (S)%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.54% 1.32% 15.38%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.18% (S)% (S)%
Two or More Races 0.95% 1.14% -18.18%
Hispanic 78.03% 70.94% 9.52%

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

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

Reference this page

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If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Lagos last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 15, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/lagos-surname-popularity/.

"Lagos last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/lagos-surname-popularity/. Accessed 15 October, 2024

Lagos last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/lagos-surname-popularity/.

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