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

Nieva, 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 Nieva surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Nieva in America

Nieva is the 36900th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Nieva surname appeared 605 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 Nieva.

We can also compare 2010 data for Nieva 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 Nieva

The surname Nieva is of Spanish origin, derived from the Spanish word "nieve" meaning "snow." It is believed to have originated as a descriptive surname for someone who lived in a snowy or mountainous region, or perhaps someone who had a fair complexion resembling snow.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Nieva surname can be found in the 13th century in the region of Castile, Spain. The name may have been derived from the town of Nieva de Cameros, located in the province of La Rioja, or from the village of Nieva in the province of Segovia.

During the Middle Ages, the Nieva surname was associated with noble families and landowners in various parts of Spain. In the 14th century, a prominent figure named Juan de Nieva was a military commander who served under King Alfonso XI of Castile during the Reconquista, the campaign to reclaim territories from the Moors.

In the 16th century, a notable individual named Francisco de Nieva (1519-1594) was a Spanish conquistador and explorer who accompanied Francisco Pizarro on his expeditions to Peru. He later became the governor of the region of Quito (present-day Ecuador) and played a significant role in the colonization of South America.

Another historical figure with the Nieva surname was Pedro de Nieva (1525-1594), a Spanish Catholic prelate who served as the Bishop of Albarracín and later as the Bishop of Cartagena in the late 16th century.

In the 18th century, a renowned Spanish botanist and explorer named Luis Née y Nieva (1734-1807) made significant contributions to the study of plants and natural history during his expeditions to various parts of the world, including the Americas and the Philippines.

Over time, the Nieva surname has spread beyond Spain to other parts of the world, particularly to Latin American countries like Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina, where it has been adopted by different families and individuals.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Nieva

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

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

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

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