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

Pajares, 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 Pajares surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pajares in America

Pajares is the 50196th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pajares surname appeared 417 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 Pajares.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pajares 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 Pajares

The surname Pajares has its origins in Spain, specifically in the northern regions of Asturias and Cantabria, where it first emerged in the Middle Ages. The name is derived from the Spanish word "pajar," meaning "haystack" or "straw barn," suggesting that the earliest bearers of this surname may have been associated with agricultural or farming activities.

Pajares is believed to have originated as a topographic surname, referring to a place where hay or straw was stored. In medieval times, when surnames were still being established, it was common for people to adopt names based on their occupations, locations, or distinctive physical traits.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pajares can be found in the Becerro de las Behetrías (Book of Behetrias) from the 14th century, which was a census-like record of landowners and their properties in the Kingdom of Castile. This document mentions individuals with the surname Pajares residing in various villages and towns across the northern regions of Spain.

In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the surname Pajares was Juan de Pajares, a Spanish architect and master builder who worked on several important projects, including the construction of the Gothic-style Colegiata de Santa María la Mayor in Toro, a town in the province of Zamora.

During the 16th century, the explorer and conquistador Hernando de Pajares participated in the Spanish conquest of the Americas, accompanying Hernán Cortés in the expedition to Mexico. He later settled in the region of Oaxaca and established a lineage that continues to this day.

In the 17th century, Pedro de Pajares y Villanueva, born in 1621, was a prominent Spanish military officer who served as the Governor of Cartagena de Indias (present-day Colombia) from 1686 to 1693.

Another notable figure with the surname Pajares was Francisco de Pajares, a Spanish painter and engraver active in the 18th century. He is known for his religious artwork and his engravings depicting scenes from the Spanish Golden Age literature.

As the centuries passed, the Pajares surname spread beyond its initial northern roots, and individuals bearing this name can now be found throughout Spain and in various parts of the Spanish-speaking world, including Latin America and the Caribbean.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pajares

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

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

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

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