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

Moratalla, 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 Moratalla surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Moratalla in America

Moratalla is the 131379th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Moratalla surname appeared 129 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 Moratalla.

The history of the last name Moratalla

The surname Moratalla originates from Spain and can be traced back to the 13th century. It is derived from the place name "Moratalla," a town located in the Murcia region of southeastern Spain. The town's name likely comes from the Latin words "mora" (mulberry tree) and "tala" (grove or plantation), suggesting that the area was once known for its mulberry groves.

In the early 14th century, the Moratalla surname appears in official records and documents from the Kingdom of Murcia. One of the earliest known references is in the "Libro de Repartimiento de Murcia," a document that recorded the distribution of land and property after the Christian conquest of the region in the 13th century.

During the 15th century, the Moratalla family played a significant role in the political and social life of the town of Moratalla. Juan de Moratalla (1430-1492) was a prominent landowner and local official who served as the town's mayor. His son, Diego de Moratalla (1460-1528), was a renowned scholar and theologian who wrote extensively on religious topics.

In the 16th century, the surname spread beyond the town of Moratalla as members of the family migrated to other parts of Spain and the Spanish colonies in the Americas. One notable figure was Pedro de Moratalla (1520-1588), a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Chile and served as a lieutenant under Pedro de Valdivia.

Another influential member of the Moratalla family was Francisca de Moratalla (1550-1620), a prominent writer and poet who was part of the literary circle in Seville during the Spanish Golden Age. Her works, which included poetry and religious texts, were widely read and praised by her contemporaries.

In the 18th century, Manuel de Moratalla (1690-1768) was a renowned architect who designed several notable buildings in Madrid, including the Royal Palace of Aranjuez and the Church of San Ginés.

As the Moratalla surname spread throughout Spain and its colonies, variations in spelling emerged, such as Moratalaz and Moratallaz. However, the original form, Moratalla, remained the most common and widely used.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Moratalla

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

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 Moratalla 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.

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Moratalla, 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!