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

Mulato, 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 Mulato surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Mulato in America

Mulato is the 37391st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Mulato surname appeared 596 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 Mulato.

We can also compare 2010 data for Mulato 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 Mulato

The surname "MULATO" has its origins in the Spanish language and can be traced back to the 16th century in Spain. It is derived from the word "mulato," which referred to a person of mixed European and African ancestry.

During the colonial era, the term "mulato" was commonly used in Spanish colonies in the Americas to describe individuals with mixed racial backgrounds. The name likely emerged as a way to identify individuals with this particular heritage, and it eventually became a surname passed down through generations.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname "MULATO" can be found in the baptismal records of the Cathedral of Seville, Spain, dating back to the late 16th century. This suggests that the name may have originated in the Andalusia region of Spain before spreading to other parts of the country and eventually to the Spanish colonies.

In the 17th century, the name "MULATO" appears in various historical documents related to the Spanish colonization of the Americas. For example, there are records of individuals with this surname in the census records of New Spain (present-day Mexico) and other Spanish territories in the Caribbean and South America.

Notable individuals with the surname "MULATO" throughout history include:

1. Francisco Mulato (c. 1600 - unknown), a Spanish soldier and explorer who participated in the conquest of Chile in the 16th century.
2. María Mulato (c. 1650 - c. 1720), a freed slave and landowner in the Spanish colony of Puerto Rico.
3. Juan Mulato (c. 1730 - c. 1810), a prominent merchant and landowner in the Spanish colony of Venezuela.
4. Juana Mulato (c. 1780 - c. 1850), a celebrated poet and writer in the Spanish colony of Cuba.
5. Tomás Mulato (c. 1820 - c. 1890), a prominent figure in the Mexican War of Independence and later a politician in the early years of independent Mexico.

While the name "MULATO" may have evolved from different regional variations and spellings over time, its roots can be traced back to the Spanish word for an individual of mixed European and African ancestry, reflecting the complex racial dynamics of the colonial era in the Americas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Mulato

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

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

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