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

Menjivar, 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 Menjivar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Menjivar in America

Menjivar is the 4116th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Menjivar surname appeared 8,622 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Menjivar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Menjivar 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 Menjivar

The surname Menjivar is of Spanish origin, specifically from the region of El Salvador in Central America. It likely dates back to the early colonial period of the 16th century when Spanish settlers arrived in the area.

The name is derived from the Spanish words "menjar" meaning "to eat" and "var" which is a contraction of the word "varo" meaning "man." It is believed to have been an occupational surname given to someone who worked in the food service industry, such as a cook or a server.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the baptismal records of the Church of San Salvador in the city of Sonsonate, El Salvador, dating back to the late 1600s. The name is also mentioned in various land ownership documents from the same time period in the region surrounding the city of Santa Ana.

In the 19th century, there are records of a Menjivar family living in the town of Chalchuapa, where a man named José Menjivar was a prominent landowner and community leader. Another notable figure from this era was María Menjivar, a teacher and advocate for women's education in the city of San Salvador.

Other historical figures with the surname include:

1. Gustavo Menjivar (1886-1964), a Salvadoran politician who served as Minister of Education in the 1940s.
2. Ana Mercedes Menjivar (1912-1995), a Salvadoran poet and novelist who is considered one of the most important literary figures in the country's history.
3. Carlos Menjivar Rosales (1923-2002), a renowned Salvadoran artist known for his paintings and murals depicting the country's culture and history.
4. Ester Menjivar (born 1949), a Salvadoran-American author and activist who has written extensively about the civil war in El Salvador and the experiences of refugees.
5. Rafael Menjivar Puquís (1959-2011), a Salvadoran human rights activist and lawyer who worked tirelessly to bring justice to victims of the civil war.

While the name Menjivar is most commonly found in El Salvador, it has also spread to other parts of Central America and to Salvadoran communities in the United States, Canada, and other countries due to migration patterns.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Menjivar

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

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

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

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