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

Mexía, 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 Mexía surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mexía in America

Mexía is the 61585th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mexía surname appeared 326 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 Mexía.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mexía 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 Mexía

The surname Mexia has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the medieval period. It is derived from the town of Mejia, located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura. This town's name is believed to have originated from the Latin word "Maxia," meaning "greatest."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Mexia surname can be found in the 13th-century document "Repartimiento de Sevilla," which documented the distribution of lands and properties after the reconquest of Seville in 1248. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Mexia, indicating their presence in the region during that time.

In the 14th century, a notable figure with the Mexia surname was Pedro Mexía (c. 1495-1552), a Spanish humanist and historian. He authored several works, including "Silva de varia lección" (A Miscellany of Various Readings), which explored diverse topics such as history, philosophy, and natural sciences.

Another prominent individual bearing the Mexia surname was Agustín Mexía (c. 1555-1629), a Spanish military officer and writer. He served in the Spanish Army during the Eighty Years' War against the Dutch and wrote a treatise on military tactics titled "Preceptos Militares" (Military Precepts).

In the 16th century, the Mexia family established themselves in the Americas, particularly in Mexico and Peru. One notable figure was Antonio de Mexia (c. 1530-1590), a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Francisco Pizarro in the conquest of Peru and later served as a governor in various regions of the Spanish Empire.

The Mexia surname also has connections to the Portuguese nobility. In the 15th century, João Mexia (c. 1430-1490) was a prominent Portuguese nobleman and military leader who served as the governor of Tangier and played a crucial role in the Moroccan expeditions during the reign of King Afonso V.

While the Mexia surname has its roots in Spain and Portugal, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly to Latin American countries, due to the Spanish colonization of the Americas. However, the earliest and most significant historical references can be traced back to the Iberian Peninsula and the medieval period.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mexía

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!