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

Mateos, 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 Mateos surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mateos in America

Mateos is the 18227th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mateos surname appeared 1,526 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 Mateos.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mateos 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 Mateos

The surname Mateos originated in Spain, likely derived from the given name Mateo, the Spanish form of Matthew, which means "gift of God" in Hebrew. The name traces its roots back to the medieval era in the Iberian Peninsula.

During the 13th and 14th centuries, the surname Mateos appeared in various Spanish records and documents, particularly in regions like Castile, Aragon, and Andalusia. It's believed to have emerged as a patronymic surname, indicating that the bearer was the son or descendant of someone named Mateo.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Mateos can be found in the "Libro de las Behetrías de Castilla," a 14th-century manuscript that documented feudal landholdings and vassalage in the Kingdom of Castile. This document mentions individuals with the surname Mateos residing in various towns and villages throughout the region.

In the 15th century, the surname Mateos gained further prominence with the rise of Juan Mateos (c. 1410-1480), a renowned Spanish painter and sculptor from Seville. His works, including altarpieces and religious sculptures, can still be found in several churches and museums across Andalusia.

Another notable figure bearing the surname Mateos was Pedro Mateos (1563-1631), a Spanish mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the field of navigation. Born in Seville, he authored several works on celestial navigation, including the influential treatise "Arte de Navegar" (The Art of Navigation).

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname Mateos also appeared in various regions of the Spanish Empire, including the Americas. One example is Juan Mateos (c. 1570-1635), a Spanish explorer and colonist who played a role in the early exploration and settlement of parts of present-day Mexico and the southwestern United States.

In the realm of literature, the surname Mateos gained recognition through the works of Emilio Mateos y Gago (1855-1929), a Spanish novelist and playwright known for his realist depictions of rural life in Extremadura. His novel "Madre Tierra" (Mother Earth) is considered a classic of Spanish literature.

Another prominent individual with the surname Mateos was María Mateos Rendón (1892-1983), a Spanish educator and feminist activist who fought for women's rights and educational reforms in Spain during the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mateos

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

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

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

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