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

Luján, 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 Luján surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Luján in America

Luján is the 1637th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Luján surname appeared 22,021 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 Luján.

We can also compare 2010 data for Luján 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 Luján

The surname Lujan has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Spanish place name "Luján," which is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, located in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha.

The name "Luján" is thought to have its roots in the Latin word "lucanus," meaning "belonging to the woods or forests." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or in a forested area.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Lujan can be found in the Libro de la Montería, a medieval hunting treatise written in the 14th century during the reign of Alfonso XI of Castile. This manuscript mentions the town of Luján and its surrounding lands.

In the 15th century, a notable figure with the surname Lujan was Pedro Núñez de Luján, a Spanish military commander who served under the Catholic Monarchs during the Reconquista. He played a significant role in the conquest of Granada in 1492.

Another prominent individual with this last name was Francisco de Luján, a 16th-century Spanish navigator and explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to Mexico. He is credited with being one of the first Europeans to set foot in what is now California.

During the colonial era, the Lujan surname spread to various parts of the Spanish Empire, including the Americas. One notable bearer of the name was Tomás de Luján, a 17th-century Spanish settler who established the town of San Antonio de Padua, which later became the city of San Antonio, Texas.

In the 19th century, a renowned Argentine poet and novelist with the surname Lujan was Benjamín Victorica Luján (1831-1895). He is considered one of the most significant literary figures of the Argentine Romantic movement.

Another notable figure was María Luisa Luján (1872-1961), a Colombian writer and educator who played a significant role in promoting women's rights and education in her country.

As the surname Lujan spread across different regions, various spelling variations emerged, such as Luxán, Luján, and Luhán. Additionally, the name has been associated with several place names, including Luján de Cuyo in Argentina and Luján de Oro in Bolivia.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Luján

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

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

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

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