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

Magallanes, 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 Magallanes surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Magallanes in America

Magallanes is the 4012th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Magallanes surname appeared 8,852 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Magallanes.

We can also compare 2010 data for Magallanes 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 Magallanes

The surname Magallanes originates from Spain and dates back to the 15th century. It is a toponymic surname derived from the Spanish city of Magallón, located in the province of Zaragoza in the region of Aragon. The name Magallón likely comes from the Latin word "magalia," referring to small rural dwellings or huts.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Magallanes can be found in the "Catastro de Ensenada," a census-like document compiled in the 18th century during the reign of King Ferdinand VI of Spain. This document mentions several families with the surname Magallanes residing in various parts of Spain.

The most famous bearer of the surname Magallanes was Ferdinand Magellan (1480-1521), the Portuguese explorer who led the first expedition to circumnavigate the globe. Although his original surname was Magalhães, it was Hispanicized to Magallanes during his time in Spain. The strait between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, as well as the Magellanic Clouds in the night sky, are named after him.

Another notable individual with the surname Magallanes was Francisco de Magallanes (1522-1590), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who participated in the conquest of the Philippines and helped establish Spanish settlements in the archipelago.

In the realm of literature, Juan Manuel Magallanes (1722-1807) was a Spanish writer and poet from Seville who gained recognition for his works in the 18th century.

During the colonial era in Mexico, there were several notable figures with the surname Magallanes, such as Juan de Magallanes (1579-1645), a Spanish Franciscan friar and missionary who worked to convert indigenous populations in New Spain.

In more recent times, Enrique Magallanes (1885-1958) was a Mexican composer and musician known for his contributions to the development of Mexican folk music.

While the surname Magallanes is not among the most common in Spanish-speaking countries today, it remains a part of the rich cultural heritage and history of Spain and its former colonies, reflecting the influence of explorers, writers, and other notable individuals who bore this name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Magallanes

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

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

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

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