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

Maldonado, 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 Maldonado surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Maldonado in America

Maldonado is the 47966th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Maldonado surname appeared 441 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 Maldonado.

We can also compare 2010 data for Maldonado 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 Maldonado

The surname Maldonaldo originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish place name Maldonado, which comes from the Latin words "malus" meaning "bad" and "donatus" meaning "given." This suggests the name may have originally referred to someone who lived in an area with poor soil or living conditions.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the Maldonaldo surname dates back to the 13th century in the region of Andalusia. It appears in a manuscript from 1267 mentioning a knight named Rodrigo Maldonaldo who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors.

In the 14th century, records show a Juan Maldonaldo who was a wealthy landowner in Extremadura. He is noted for having donated funds to build a church in the town of Malpartida de Plasencia in 1352.

The Maldonaldo name gained prominence in the 15th century with Alonso Maldonaldo (1412-1489), a respected scholar and theologian from Salamanca. He authored several influential works on theology and philosophy during the Spanish Renaissance.

During the Age of Exploration in the 16th century, the conquistador Diego Maldonaldo (1480-1542) was part of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire under Hernán Cortés. He later served as a colonial administrator in New Spain.

Another notable figure was the playwright Juan Maldonaldo (1567-1628) from Madrid. His comedic plays were popular during the Spanish Golden Age of theater in the early 1600s.

As the Spanish Empire expanded globally, the Maldonaldo surname spread to Spanish colonies in the Americas, Philippines, and elsewhere. Early variations included spellings like Maldonado, Maldonada, and Maldonata.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Maldonado

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

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

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

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