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

Pacheco, 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 Pacheco surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pacheco in America

Pacheco is the 80926th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pacheco surname appeared 234 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 Pacheco.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pacheco 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 Pacheco

The surname Pacheo is believed to have originated in Spain during the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Spanish word "pachón," which means "large" or "robust." This suggests that the name was originally a nickname given to someone who was particularly tall or well-built.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the medieval records of the Kingdom of Aragon, where a certain Pedro Pacheo was mentioned as a landowner in the 13th century. The name also appeared in various legal documents and property records from that period in other parts of Spain, such as Castile and Andalusia.

In the 15th century, a notable figure named Juan Pacheo served as a trusted advisor to King Henry IV of Castile. He played a significant role in the political intrigues of the time and was influential in shaping the course of events during the Castilian Civil War.

Another notable bearer of the name was Diego Pacheo, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expedition to conquer Mexico in the early 16th century. Pacheo was among the first Europeans to set foot in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan and documented his experiences in a series of letters.

In the 17th century, a renowned artist named Francisco Pacheo gained fame for his religious paintings and his influential treatise on art theory, titled "Arte de la Pintura." He was also the father-in-law of the celebrated Spanish painter Diego Velázquez.

The name Pacheo has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as the town of Pacheco in the province of Murcia, and the village of Los Pacheos in the province of Seville. These place names likely originated from the surname itself or from individuals who bore the name and settled in those areas.

Over the centuries, the surname Pacheo has undergone various spelling variations, including Pacheco, Pacheco, and Pacheque, among others. However, the core meaning and origin of the name have remained consistent, tracing back to its roots as a descriptive nickname in medieval Spain.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pacheco

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

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

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

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