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

Ocañas, 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 Ocañas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ocañas in America

Ocañas is the 21609th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ocañas surname appeared 1,207 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 Ocañas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ocañas 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 Ocañas

The surname Ocanas has its origins in Spain, tracing back to the early medieval period around the 8th to 10th centuries. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "ocano," which means "a small rocky hill" or "a hillock." This suggests that the name may have been initially associated with families who resided near or owned lands with such geographical features.

During the Reconquista, when Christian kingdoms gradually regained control of the Iberian Peninsula from the Moors, the name Ocanas started appearing in various regions of Spain. One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a manuscript from the 14th century that documented landowners and their properties in the Kingdom of Castile.

In the 15th century, a notable figure named Juan de Ocanas served as a royal secretary under King Juan II of Castile. He played a significant role in the court and was instrumental in negotiating peace treaties during the turbulent period of the Reconquista.

The town of Ocaña, located in the province of Toledo, Spain, shares a similar etymology with the surname Ocanas. It is believed that some families might have adopted the surname based on their association with this particular town or its surrounding areas.

Another prominent individual bearing the name was Alonso de Ocanas, a Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to Mexico in the early 16th century. Ocanas played a crucial role in mapping and charting the coastlines of Central America, contributing to the expansion of Spanish exploration and colonization in the region.

In the realm of literature, one cannot overlook the renowned Spanish poet and playwright Cristóbal de Ocanas, who lived from 1543 to 1611. His works, which included religious plays and poetry, were highly acclaimed during the Spanish Golden Age and reflected the cultural richness of that era.

Over the centuries, the surname Ocanas has spread to various parts of the world, particularly to Latin American countries, due to Spanish colonization and migration. However, its roots can be traced back to the medieval Iberian Peninsula, where it originated as a topographic surname reflecting the geographical features of the regions inhabited by its earliest bearers.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ocañas

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

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

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