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

Nadal, 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 Nadal surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nadal in America

Nadal is the 21553rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nadal surname appeared 1,211 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 Nadal.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nadal 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 Nadal

The surname Nadal has its origins in Catalonia, a region spanning parts of eastern Spain and the southeastern French region of Pyrénées-Orientales. The name is derived from the Catalan word 'nadal', meaning 'Christmas' or 'Nativity', and was likely first used as a descriptive surname for someone born on or around Christmas Day.

The earliest known written record of the name appears in the 12th century Llibre de Repartiment de València, a census document from the Kingdom of Valencia. This document lists several individuals with the surname Nadal, suggesting the name was already well-established in the region by that time.

In the 13th century, a prominent Catalan nobleman named Ramon Nadal was recorded as a participant in the Conquest of Mallorca, a military campaign led by King James I of Aragon to take control of the Balearic Islands from the Moors.

During the 14th century, the surname Nadal appears in several historical documents from the Crown of Aragon, including records of landowners and merchants. One notable figure from this period was Bernat Nadal, a wealthy merchant from Barcelona who financed expeditions to the Canary Islands.

In the 15th century, a notable bearer of the surname was Joan Nadal, a renowned Catalan physician and author who wrote extensively on medical topics and natural philosophy.

Another significant figure was Jeroni Nadal, a 16th-century Jesuit priest and theologian from Mallorca. He played a crucial role in the early development of the Jesuit order and was a close associate of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

Over the centuries, the Nadal surname spread beyond Catalonia to other parts of Spain and the Spanish-speaking world, including Latin America. Some variations in spelling include Nadal, Nadales, and Nadalgo.

While the name has been associated with various notable individuals throughout history, perhaps the most famous modern bearer of the surname is Rafael Nadal, the Spanish professional tennis player born in 1986, who has won numerous Grand Slam titles and is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nadal

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

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

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

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