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

Matamoros, 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 Matamoros surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Matamoros in America

Matamoros is the 8206th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Matamoros surname appeared 4,044 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 Matamoros.

We can also compare 2010 data for Matamoros 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 Matamoros

The surname Matamoros originated in Spain, specifically in the region of Extremadura. It can be traced back to the 13th century and is derived from the Spanish phrase "matar moros," which translates to "kill Moors." This phrase was likely used as a war cry during the Reconquista, the period of conflict between Christian and Muslim forces in the Iberian Peninsula.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Matamoros can be found in the Repartimiento de Sevilla, a document from the 13th century that recorded the distribution of land and properties among the Christian settlers in the city of Seville after its conquest from the Moors.

During the 15th century, the Matamoros name appeared in various historical records, including the Libro de Repartimiento de Antequera, which documented the settlement of Antequera, a town in Andalusia, after its reconquest in 1410.

In the 16th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Matamoros was Diego Matamoros, a Spanish humanist and scholar born in Seville in 1520. He was renowned for his expertise in classical literature and his contributions to the field of rhetoric.

Another prominent individual with the Matamoros surname was Juan Matamoros, a Spanish military leader and explorer who participated in the conquest of the Philippines in the late 16th century. He served under the command of Miguel López de Legazpi and played a crucial role in the establishment of Spanish rule in the archipelago.

In the 17th century, the Matamoros name was associated with the town of Matamoros, located in the state of Tamaulipas, Mexico. This town was founded in 1688 and named after the nearby Matamoros Lagoon, which itself may have been named after an individual with the Matamoros surname.

During the 18th century, a notable figure bearing the Matamoros surname was José Matamoros, a Spanish military officer and governor of the Venezuelan provinces of Cumaná and Guayana. He played a significant role in the defense of these territories against British and Dutch forces during the colonial era.

In the 19th century, the Matamoros surname gained prominence with the Mexican revolutionary leader Mariano Matamoros, who fought against Spanish rule in the Mexican War of Independence. He was born in 1770 and executed by the Spanish authorities in 1814 for his involvement in the revolutionary cause.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Matamoros

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

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

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

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