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

Matute, 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 Matute surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Matute in America

Matute is the 8478th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Matute surname appeared 3,892 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 Matute.

We can also compare 2010 data for Matute 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 Matute

The surname Matute has its origins in Spain, dating back to the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Basque word "matu," which means "hazelnut." It is believed that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a hazelnut grove or worked with hazelnuts in some capacity.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Matute can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrias, a manuscript compiled in the 14th century that documented landowners and their properties in the region of Castile. This suggests that the name was already established in parts of northern Spain by this time.

In the 15th century, a notable figure named Juan Matute was a military commander who fought in the Reconquista, the campaign to expel the Moors from the Iberian Peninsula. He was a prominent figure in the battles against the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada.

The name Matute can also be linked to various place names in Spain, such as the village of Matute in the province of La Rioja, and the Matute Valley in the Basque Country. These locations may have been named after the hazelnut groves that once existed in those areas, or after individuals with the surname Matute who settled there.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname Matute was Juan Matute y Gaviria, a Spanish politician and lawyer who lived in the 18th century (1666-1747). He served as the president of the Council of Castile, one of the highest positions in the Spanish government at the time.

Another noteworthy figure was Anselmo Matute (1794-1866), a Mexican lawyer and politician who played a significant role in the Mexican War of Independence and later served as the governor of the state of Puebla.

In the 20th century, Ana María Matute (1925-2014) was a renowned Spanish writer and a member of the Royal Spanish Academy. She was awarded numerous literary prizes, including the Cervantes Prize, the highest honor in Spanish literature.

The surname Matute has also been found in other parts of the world, likely due to Spanish emigration and colonization. For example, there are families with the name Matute in the Philippines, which was a Spanish colony for several centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Matute

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

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

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

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