Negrete last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Negrete

A Spanish surname derived from a place name meaning "a grove of black poplar trees."

Negrete, 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 Negrete surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Negrete in America

Negrete is the 2384th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Negrete surname appeared 15,245 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 5 people would have the surname Negrete.

We can also compare 2010 data for Negrete 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 2384 2961 -21.59%
Count 15,245 11,188 30.70%
Proportion per 100k 5.17 4.15 21.89%

The history of the last name Negrete

The surname Negrete has its origins in Spain, dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Spanish word "negreto," which means "little black" or "dark-skinned." This name was likely given as a descriptive nickname to someone with a darker complexion or darker hair color.

In the early days, surnames were often derived from physical characteristics, occupations, or places of origin. The name Negrete first appeared in historical records during the 13th and 14th centuries in various regions of Spain, such as Andalusia, Castile, and Aragon.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Negrete can be found in the Libro de las Behetrías, a medieval document from the 14th century that listed landowners and their properties in the Kingdom of Castile. The name was also mentioned in the Cartulario de Valpuesta, a collection of medieval documents from the monastery of Valpuesta in Burgos, Spain.

During the 15th century, Juan Negrete y Mendoza (1440-1504) was a prominent Spanish military leader who served under the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella. He played a crucial role in the conquest of Granada, the last Muslim-ruled territory in Spain.

In the 16th century, Diego Negrete (1505-1570) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who participated in the conquest of Mexico under Hernán Cortés. He later became the governor of Pánuco, a province in the Spanish colonial territory of New Spain (present-day Mexico).

Another notable figure with the surname Negrete was Pedro Negrete (1598-1667), a Spanish painter and engraver who worked during the Baroque period. He was known for his religious paintings and engravings, many of which can be found in churches and museums across Spain.

During the 18th century, José María Negrete (1788-1847) was a Spanish military officer and politician who fought in the Peninsular War against the French invasion of Spain. He later served as the Prime Minister of Spain from 1836 to 1837.

In the 19th century, Manuel Negrete (1841-1909) was a Mexican lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs during the presidency of Porfirio Díaz. He played a significant role in resolving border disputes between Mexico and the United States.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Negrete

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

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 Negrete was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 5.07% 773
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.12% 18
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 0.21% 32
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.16% 24
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.17% 26
Hispanic Origin 94.27% 14,371

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 Negrete has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 5.07% 6.36% -22.57%
Black 0.12% 0.16% -28.57%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.21% 0.19% 10.00%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.16% 0.32% -66.67%
Two or More Races 0.17% 0.43% -86.67%
Hispanic 94.27% 92.55% 1.84%

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

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

"Negrete last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 11, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/negrete-surname-popularity/.

"Negrete last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/negrete-surname-popularity/. Accessed 11 December, 2024

Negrete last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/negrete-surname-popularity/.

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