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

Melena, 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 Melena surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Melena in America

Melena is the 22026th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Melena surname appeared 1,177 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 Melena.

We can also compare 2010 data for Melena 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 Melena

The surname Melena is derived from the Spanish word 'melena' which means 'mane' or 'long hair'. It originated in Spain during the medieval period, likely as a descriptive name for someone with long, flowing hair.

One of the earliest known references to the surname Melena can be found in the census records of the town of Seville, Spain, dating back to the 14th century. The name appears to have been concentrated in the southern regions of Spain, particularly in Andalusia.

A notable early bearer of the name Melena was Juan Melena, a Spanish soldier who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors in the late 15th century. Historical records indicate that he was born in Cordoba in 1461 and died in battle near Granada in 1492.

Another prominent figure with the surname Melena was Maria Melena, a renowned poet and writer from Seville who lived in the 16th century. Her collection of sonnets, published in 1583, is considered one of the finest works of Spanish Renaissance literature.

In the 17th century, the name Melena appears in the records of the Spanish Inquisition, with a certain Diego Melena being tried and convicted for heresy in 1612. He was born in Cadiz in 1578 and died in prison in 1620.

During the Age of Exploration, the surname Melena was carried to the Americas by Spanish conquistadors and settlers. One such individual was Pedro Melena, a soldier who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in 1519. He was born in Seville in 1492 and died in Mexico City in 1542.

The surname Melena has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as the village of Melena de Aragón in the province of Zaragoza, and Melena del Sur in the province of Huelva.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Melena

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

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

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

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