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

Mejías, 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 Mejías surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mejías in America

Mejías is the 7450th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mejías surname appeared 4,472 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Mejías.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mejías 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 Mejías

The surname Mejias has its origins in Spain, traced back to the 15th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "mejia," which means "cheekbone" or "jawbone." The name likely originated as a descriptive nickname for someone with prominent cheekbones or a distinguishing jawline.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Mejias can be found in the census records of the town of Seville, Spain, dated 1492. The name appeared as "Mexías," which was a common spelling variation during that time period. This suggests that the name was already well-established in the region of Andalusia, where Seville is located.

Historical records indicate that a notable bearer of the surname Mejias was Pedro Mejías, a Spanish soldier who fought alongside Hernán Cortés during the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. Mejías was born in Seville around 1495 and participated in the famous Siege of Tenochtitlan, which led to the fall of the Aztec Empire.

Another prominent figure with the surname Mejias was Baltasar Mejías, a Spanish playwright and poet from the 17th century. He was born in Madrid in 1616 and is best known for his satirical works that criticized the societal norms and political climate of his time.

In the 18th century, a man named Juan Mejías gained recognition as a skilled architect and engineer. He was responsible for designing and overseeing the construction of several notable buildings and infrastructure projects in the city of Cádiz, Spain, where he was born in 1723.

Moving into the 19th century, Francisco Mejías Asensio (1828-1898) was a Spanish painter and art professor. He was born in Seville and is remembered for his contributions to the development of the Sevillian School of Painting, as well as his role in establishing one of the first art academies in the region.

Lastly, Manuel Mejías Rapela (1905-1997) was a renowned Spanish flamenco singer and guitarist. Born in Seville, he was instrumental in popularizing and preserving the traditional flamenco art form, and his recordings and performances have had a lasting impact on the genre.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mejías

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

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

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

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