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

Magdalena, 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 Magdalena surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Magdalena in America

Magdalena is the 66754th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Magdalena surname appeared 296 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 Magdalena.

We can also compare 2010 data for Magdalena 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 Magdalena

The surname MAGDALENA is of Spanish origin, derived from the biblical place name Magdala, a town on the Sea of Galilee in ancient Israel. It is believed to have emerged as a surname in Spain during the Middle Ages.

MAGDALENA is a locational surname, which means it was originally given to someone who lived in or came from the town of Magdala. As Christians spread throughout Europe, the name became associated with various places named after the biblical town, such as Magdalena in Spain.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname MAGDALENA can be found in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript from the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. This manuscript contains a collection of sermons, liturgical texts, and accounts of pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, including references to individuals with the surname MAGDALENA.

In the 13th century, a notable bearer of the name was Gonzalo Magdalena, a Spanish military commander and conquistador who participated in the conquests of Mexico and Guatemala under Hernán Cortés and Pedro de Alvarado.

During the 15th century, the surname MAGDALENA was found in various historical records across Spain, including the archives of the Kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Castile. One notable individual from this period was Álvaro de Magdalena, a Spanish nobleman and military commander who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors.

In the 16th century, the explorer and conquistador Hernando de Magdalena, born in Spain around 1500, accompanied Francisco Pizarro on his expeditions to Peru and played a significant role in the conquest of the Inca Empire.

Another notable bearer of the surname was María Magdalena, a 16th-century Spanish nun and mystic known for her visions and spiritual writings. She was born in Aguilar de Campoo, Spain, around 1520 and founded the Order of the Unbracaded Recollects.

Over the centuries, the surname MAGDALENA spread beyond Spain to other parts of Europe and the Americas, carried by Spanish settlers, explorers, and immigrants.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Magdalena

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

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!