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

Palomares, 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 Palomares surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Palomares in America

Palomares is the 4964th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Palomares surname appeared 7,084 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Palomares.

We can also compare 2010 data for Palomares 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 Palomares

The surname Palomares originated in Spain and is derived from the Spanish word "paloma," meaning pigeon or dove. It likely emerged as a surname during the Middle Ages, referring to someone who lived near or worked with pigeons or doves.

One of the earliest known references to the name Palomares can be found in the "Libro de la Montería" (Book of the Hunt), a 14th-century manuscript detailing hunting preserves in Spain. The book mentions a place called "Palomares" in the region of Castilla-La Mancha, suggesting the name was already in use as a location name by that time.

In the 15th century, records from the Archivo General de Indias (General Archive of the Indies) in Seville mention several individuals with the surname Palomares who were involved in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. For example, Juan Palomares was a soldier who participated in the conquest of Mexico under Hernán Cortés in the early 1500s.

The earliest known bearer of the surname Palomares was Gonzalo Palomares, a Spanish nobleman born around 1450 in the town of Palomares del Campo, near Ciudad Real in Castilla-La Mancha. He was a prominent figure in the court of King Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile.

Another notable individual with the surname Palomares was Francisco Palomares (1535-1615), a Spanish calligrapher and writer who is considered one of the most influential figures in the development of the Spanish cursive handwriting style known as "letra bastarda."

In the 17th century, Diego Palomares y Velasco (1617-1677) was a Spanish painter and etcher who worked in Madrid and was known for his religious paintings and portraits of the Spanish nobility.

During the 19th century, Juan Palomares y Castilla (1818-1892) was a Spanish military officer and politician who served as the Governor General of Cuba from 1885 to 1887.

Palomares is also a place name in Spain, with several towns and villages bearing the name, such as Palomares del Campo in Ciudad Real and Palomares del Río in Seville. These place names likely contributed to the spread and adoption of the surname Palomares in various regions of Spain.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Palomares

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

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

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

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