Mafla last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Mafla

An Arabic surname potentially derived from the Semitic root word "Mafel" meaning "safe harbor."

Mafla, 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 Mafla surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mafla in America

Mafla is the 127494th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mafla surname appeared 134 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 Mafla.

The history of the last name Mafla

The surname MAFLA is believed to have originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Arabic word "mafla," which means "plow" or "plowshare." This suggests that the name may have been associated with agricultural occupations or landholdings in the areas of Spain that were under Moorish rule.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the MAFLA surname can be found in a land registry document from the 13th century in the region of Andalusia, where a person named Rodrigo MAFLA was listed as a landowner. The name also appears in several legal documents and municipal records from the 14th and 15th centuries in various parts of southern Spain.

During the Reconquista, when the Christian kingdoms gradually reclaimed territories from the Moors, the MAFLA name likely spread to other regions of Spain. One notable bearer of the name was Juan MAFLA, a soldier who fought alongside El Cid during the Reconquest campaigns in the late 11th century.

In the 16th century, the MAFLA name can be found in records from the Spanish colonization of the Americas. For instance, a man named Hernán MAFLA was among the conquistadors who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the 1520s.

As the Spanish Empire expanded, the MAFLA surname also spread to other parts of the world, including the Philippines, where a prominent family by the name of MAFLA settled during the Spanish colonial period. One of their descendants, Miguel MAFLA (1790-1865), was a renowned poet and playwright in the Philippines.

Another notable bearer of the MAFLA surname was Juana MAFLA (1610-1678), a Spanish nun and mystic who was known for her visions and spiritual writings. She lived in a convent in Seville and was revered for her piety and devotion.

Other historical figures with the MAFLA surname include Pedro MAFLA (1712-1786), a Spanish architect who designed several churches and public buildings in Madrid, and Antonio MAFLA (1845-1912), a Mexican politician and diplomat who served as his country's ambassador to several European nations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mafla

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

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 Mafla was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 5.22% 7
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin 94.78% 127

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.

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

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

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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!

"Mafla last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on November 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/mafla-surname-popularity/.

"Mafla last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/mafla-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 November, 2024

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

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