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

Palacios, 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 Palacios surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Palacios in America

Palacios is the 789th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Palacios surname appeared 43,798 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 15 people would have the surname Palacios.

We can also compare 2010 data for Palacios 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 Palacios

The surname Palacios has its origins in Spain and dates back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "palacio," which means "palace" or "mansion." The name was likely given to individuals who lived near or worked in a palace or grand residence.

One of the earliest known records of the surname Palacios appears in the Cartulario de Eslonza, a medieval manuscript from the Kingdom of León, which mentions a person named Domingo Palacios in the year 1190.

In the 13th century, the surname Palacios is found in various regions of Spain, including Castile, Aragon, and Navarre. For instance, a certain Pedro de Palacios is mentioned in a document from the city of Burgos, dated 1254.

During the 14th and 15th centuries, the Palacios surname gained prominence in several Spanish cities and towns, such as Seville, Granada, and Toledo. Some notable individuals from this period include Juan de Palacios, a medieval scholar and translator who lived in the 15th century, and Diego de Palacios, a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century.

In the 16th century, the Palacios surname spread to the Americas as a result of Spanish colonization. One of the earliest recorded examples is Hernando de Palacios, who settled in Peru in the 1530s and became a prominent landowner and encomendero (holder of an encomienda grant).

Over the centuries, the surname Palacios has been associated with various notable figures, such as Manuel Palacios Villegas (1831-1920), a Chilean politician and diplomat, and Miguel Palacios Carvajal (1863-1960), a Mexican artist and illustrator.

Other prominent individuals with the surname Palacios include Leopoldo Palacios (1828-1920), a Venezuelan military leader and politician; Luisa Palacios (1853-1925), a Spanish writer and feminist; and Leopoldo Palacios Morini (1876-1961), an Argentine architect and urban planner.

The surname Palacios has also been found in other Spanish-speaking countries, such as Mexico, Argentina, and Chile, where it has been carried by notable figures like Jesús Palacios Gámiz (1914-1997), a Mexican painter and muralist, and Mateo Palacios Montalva (1804-1877), a Chilean military officer and politician.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Palacios

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

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

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

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