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

Mejilla, 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 Mejilla surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mejilla in America

Mejilla is the 65066th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mejilla surname appeared 305 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Mejilla.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mejilla 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 Mejilla

The surname "MEJILLA" has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish word "mejilla," which means "cheek." This suggests that the name may have initially been used as a descriptive nickname for someone with prominent or distinctive cheeks.

The earliest recorded instances of the name "MEJILLA" can be found in various medieval Spanish documents and records, such as legal contracts, census records, and municipal archives. One notable example is a land deed from the 13th century in the region of Aragon, where a certain Pedro Mejilla is mentioned as a landowner.

In the 15th century, the name appears in the records of the Spanish Inquisition, where a family named Mejilla was persecuted for their alleged involvement in secret Jewish practices. This suggests that the name may have been associated with conversos, Jews who converted to Christianity during the Inquisition.

As Spain expanded its territories in the Americas during the 16th and 17th centuries, the name "MEJILLA" traveled with Spanish settlers and colonists to the New World. Historical records from this period mention various individuals with this surname in different parts of the Spanish colonial empire, such as Mexico, Peru, and the Caribbean.

One notable figure with the surname "MEJILLA" was Alonso Mejilla, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquest of the Inca Empire in the 16th century. He was born in Seville, Spain, around 1510 and died in Peru in the 1570s.

Another prominent individual was Catalina Mejilla, a Spanish nun and writer who lived in the 17th century. She authored several religious texts and was known for her mystical writings. She was born in Granada, Spain, in 1615 and died in 1688.

In the 18th century, the name "MEJILLA" appears in records related to the Spanish colonial administration in the Americas. For instance, there is a mention of a Juan Mejilla who served as a government official in the Viceroyalty of New Spain (present-day Mexico) in the 1770s.

During the 19th century, as Spain's colonies gained independence, the name "MEJILLA" continued to be present in various parts of Latin America. One notable figure was José Mejilla, a Venezuelan military leader who fought in the Venezuelan War of Independence against Spain in the early 1800s.

Lastly, in the 20th century, one of the most well-known individuals with the surname "MEJILLA" was Francisco Mejilla, a Spanish painter and artist who was part of the Surrealist movement. He was born in Barcelona in 1905 and died in 1982.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mejilla

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

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

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

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