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

Luz, 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 Luz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Luz in America

Luz is the 15771st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Luz surname appeared 1,848 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 Luz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Luz 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 Luz

The surname Luz is of Spanish origin and is derived from the Spanish word "luz" meaning "light". It is believed to have originated in the late 14th or early 15th century, although the earliest recorded instances of the name are not known for certain.

One theory suggests that the name may have been initially used as a descriptive surname for someone who lived near a source of light, such as a lighthouse or a well-lit area. Another possibility is that it was given to someone who worked with light or candles, such as a candlemaker or a lamplighter.

The name Luz can be traced back to various regions of Spain, particularly in the areas of Andalusia and Castile. It is also found in some Latin American countries, such as Mexico and Argentina, where Spanish influence was significant.

While there are no known historical references to the surname Luz in major medieval manuscripts like the Domesday Book, some early records of the name can be found in Spanish church records and municipal archives from the 15th and 16th centuries.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Luz was Juan de Luz, a Spanish navigator and explorer who participated in the conquest of the Canary Islands in the late 15th century. Another notable figure was Francisco de Luz, a Spanish poet and playwright from the 16th century, known for his works in the Golden Age of Spanish literature.

In the 17th century, there was Juan Bautista de Luz, a Spanish painter known for his religious artwork and frescoes in churches throughout Spain. In the 18th century, Pedro de Luz was a prominent Spanish architect who designed several notable buildings in Madrid and other cities.

During the 19th century, one of the most famous individuals with the surname Luz was Benito Pérez Galdós (1843-1920), a renowned Spanish novelist and playwright, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers of the Spanish realist movement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Luz

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

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

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

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