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

Palacio, 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 Palacio surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Palacio in America

Palacio is the 4220th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Palacio surname appeared 8,400 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Palacio.

We can also compare 2010 data for Palacio 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 Palacio

The surname Palacio originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "palacio," which means "palace" or "manor house." The name likely referred to someone who lived or worked in a palace or was associated with a noble family.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Palacio can be found in the Libro de la Montería, a 14th-century hunting treatise commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile. The document mentions a person named Pedro Palacio, who was a nobleman and attendant to the king.

In the 15th century, the name appears in various historical records from the region of Aragon in northeastern Spain. For example, a document from the archives of the city of Zaragoza mentions a certain Juan Palacio, a landowner and prominent citizen.

During the 16th century, the surname Palacio became more widespread throughout Spain, particularly in the regions of Castile, Extremadura, and Andalusia. One notable figure from this era was Diego Palacio y Salcedo (c. 1520-1597), a Spanish soldier and author who wrote a treatise on military strategy.

In the 17th century, the name Palacio was also found in Spanish colonial records from the Americas. One example is Juan de Palacio (c. 1600-1670), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who participated in the conquest of the territory that is now part of Mexico and Guatemala.

Another prominent individual with the surname Palacio was Miguel de Palacio (1677-1743), a Spanish architect and engineer who designed several important buildings in Madrid, including the Royal Palace of Aranjuez.

During the 18th and 19th centuries, the surname Palacio continued to be well-represented in various parts of Spain and its colonies. For instance, Manuel del Palacio (1832-1904) was a Spanish poet and playwright who gained recognition for his contributions to the romantic and costumbristic literary movements.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Palacio

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

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

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

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