Mancha last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Mancha

A Spanish toponymic surname referring to someone from La Mancha, a historical region in central Spain.

Mancha, 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 Mancha surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mancha in America

Mancha is the 9932nd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mancha surname appeared 3,248 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Mancha.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mancha 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 9932 10578 -6.30%
Count 3,248 2,783 15.42%
Proportion per 100k 1.10 1.03 6.57%

The history of the last name Mancha

The surname "MANCHA" is of Spanish origin, tracing its roots back to the medieval period in the Iberian Peninsula. It derives from the Spanish word "mancha," meaning "stain" or "blemish," potentially referring to a physical characteristic or location associated with the family's ancestry.

One of the earliest documented references to the surname can be found in the "Anales Toledanos," a medieval chronicle detailing the history of Toledo, Spain. The name appears in records dating back to the 13th century, indicating its long-standing presence in the region.

The name "MANCHA" is closely tied to the region of La Mancha, a vast plateau located in central Spain. Historical records suggest that the surname may have originated from individuals residing in or associated with this area, particularly during the time of the Reconquista, when Christian kingdoms were reclaiming territories from Moorish rule.

In the 16th century, the name gained literary prominence through Miguel de Cervantes' iconic novel, "Don Quixote de la Mancha." The protagonist, Don Quixote, and his faithful squire, Sancho Panza, hailed from the region of La Mancha, contributing to the surname's enduring association with Spanish culture and literature.

Notable individuals bearing the surname "MANCHA" include:

  1. Rodrigo Mancha (born c. 1235), a prominent military leader during the Reconquista who served under Alfonso X of Castile.
  2. María de la Mancha (c. 1490-1560), a Spanish noblewoman known for her patronage of the arts and her role in the construction of the Convent of Santa Clara in Cuenca.
  3. Juan de la Mancha (c. 1530-1592), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of the Yucatán Peninsula and served as the first governor of Mérida.
  4. Juana Mancha (c. 1610-1680), a renowned Spanish painter and one of the few female artists of her time to achieve recognition for her religious works.
  5. Pedro Mancha y Cabrera (1770-1845), a Spanish military officer and politician who served as the Governor of Puerto Rico from 1823 to 1824.

While the surname "MANCHA" has its origins in Spain, it has since spread to other parts of the world through migration and cultural exchange, carrying with it a rich historical legacy deeply rooted in the Spanish language, literature, and medieval past.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mancha

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

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 Mancha was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 9.30% 302
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.80% 26
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.58% 19
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.52% 17
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.15% 5
Hispanic Origin 88.64% 2,879

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 Mancha has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 9.30% 9.67% -3.90%
Black 0.80% 0.83% -3.68%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.58% 0.79% -30.66%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.52% 0.61% -15.93%
Two or More Races 0.15% 0.72% -131.03%
Hispanic 88.64% 87.39% 1.42%

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Mancha, 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!

"Mancha last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 4, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/mancha-surname-popularity/.

"Mancha last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/mancha-surname-popularity/. Accessed 4 December, 2024

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

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