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

Malpica, 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 Malpica surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Malpica in America

Malpica is the 22069th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Malpica surname appeared 1,174 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 Malpica.

We can also compare 2010 data for Malpica 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 Malpica

The surname Malpica originated in Spain, with the earliest records dating back to the 12th century. It is thought to derive from the Spanish place name "Malpica", which is a combination of the Latin words "malus" meaning "bad" and "picus" meaning "rocky hill". This suggests that the name likely referred to a settlement situated on a rugged or undesirable hill.

Malpica is a relatively common place name in Spain, with towns and villages bearing this name found in the regions of Galicia, Asturias, and Aragon, among others. It is believed that the surname originated in one of these areas, with families adopting the name of their local town or village as their hereditary surname.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Malpica can be found in the Libro de Repartimiento de Sevilla, a medieval document that recorded the distribution of land and properties in Seville after the Christian conquest of the city in 1248. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Malpica, suggesting that the name was already well-established by the 13th century.

During the 15th century, a notable figure with the surname Malpica was Pedro Malpica, a Spanish navigator and explorer who participated in the colonization of the Canary Islands. He was born in Seville around 1420 and played a significant role in the conquest and settlement of the islands under the leadership of Juan de Béthencourt.

Another prominent individual with this surname was Diego de Malpica, a Spanish soldier and conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. He was born in Malpica, Galicia, around 1490 and played a crucial role in several battles against the Aztecs.

In the 17th century, Juan de Malpica y Arcos was a Spanish nobleman and military officer who served as the Governor of Panama from 1660 to 1665. He was born in Seville in 1610 and played a significant role in the defense of the Spanish colonies against pirate attacks.

In the 18th century, Tomás de Malpica y Cano was a Spanish architect and engineer who was involved in the construction of several important buildings in Madrid, including the Royal Palace of Madrid. He was born in Malpica, Asturias, in 1712 and made significant contributions to the development of Spanish architecture.

During the 19th century, José María de Malpica y Labarca was a Chilean politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs for Chile from 1861 to 1862. He was born in Santiago, Chile, in 1808, and played an influential role in shaping Chile's foreign policy during a period of political turmoil.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Malpica

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

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

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

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