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

Palau, 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 Palau surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Palau in America

Palau is the 31211th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Palau surname appeared 743 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 Palau.

We can also compare 2010 data for Palau 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 Palau

The surname PALAU is of Spanish origin, deriving from the place name Palau, a town located in the Catalonia region of northeastern Spain. The name can be traced back to the 12th century and is believed to have originated from the Latin word "palatium," meaning palace or residence of a nobleman.

In the early medieval period, the name PALAU was initially used to identify individuals who lived near or worked in the local palace or manor house. It gradually became a hereditary surname, passed down through generations of families associated with these locations.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the PALAU surname can be found in the "Llibre del Repartiment," a document that records the distribution of land and property in the Kingdom of Valencia after the Reconquista in the 13th century. This historical record mentions several individuals with the surname PALAU who received land grants in the region.

Throughout the centuries, the PALAU surname has been prominent in various regions of Spain, particularly in Catalonia and Valencia. Notable individuals bearing this surname include:

1. Pere Palau (c. 1455 - c. 1520), a Catalan painter and sculptor known for his contributions to the Renaissance art movement in Spain.

2. Francesc Palau i Quer (1811 - 1888), a Spanish botanist and pharmacist who authored several influential works on the flora of Spain.

3. Manuel Palau (1892 - 1967), a Spanish lawyer and politician who served as the Minister of Labor during the Second Spanish Republic.

4. Bartomeu Palau (c. 1450 - c. 1520), a renowned Majorcan architect and sculptor who worked on several notable buildings in Palma de Mallorca, including the Cathedral of Santa Maria.

5. Josep Palau i Fabre (1917 - 2008), a Catalan poet, essayist, and art critic who played a significant role in the cultural renaissance of post-Civil War Spain.

The PALAU surname has also been found in various spellings and variations, such as Palao, Palaus, and Palacios, reflecting the linguistic diversity of the regions where it was adopted.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Palau

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

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

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

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