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

Moriel, 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 Moriel surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Moriel in America

Moriel is the 49999th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Moriel surname appeared 419 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 Moriel.

We can also compare 2010 data for Moriel 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 Moriel

The surname Moriel is believed to have originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Latin word "maurus," which means Moor or someone of Moorish descent. The Moors were Muslim inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula, who ruled parts of Spain and Portugal for several centuries until the Reconquista in the late 15th century.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Moriel can be found in the historical records of the Kingdom of Aragon, which was a medieval kingdom located in eastern Spain. In these records, dated back to the 13th century, there are references to individuals bearing the name Moriel, indicating that the name was present during the time of Moorish rule in the region.

As the Moors were gradually expelled from the Iberian Peninsula during the Reconquista, many families with the surname Moriel likely migrated to other parts of Europe and the Americas. Historical records from the 16th and 17th centuries show instances of the name appearing in various regions, including France, Italy, and the Spanish colonies in the New World.

One notable figure with the surname Moriel was Juan Moriel, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. Another individual of note was Francisco Moriel, a 17th-century Spanish artist known for his religious paintings and murals in churches throughout Spain and Latin America.

In the 18th century, there are records of a French nobleman named Charles Moriel, who served as a military officer during the reign of Louis XV. Additionally, a German philosopher and theologian named Johann Moriel gained recognition for his writings on metaphysics and the nature of existence during the late 18th century.

One of the most famous individuals with the surname Moriel was María Moriel, a Mexican poet and writer who lived in the 19th century. She was celebrated for her contributions to the literary movement known as Romanticism and her works exploring themes of love, nature, and Mexican identity.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Moriel

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

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

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

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