Pascua last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Pascua

A Spanish surname referring to the Christian festival of Easter or the Jewish festival of Passover.

Pascua, 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 Pascua surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pascua in America

Pascua is the 7684th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pascua surname appeared 4,321 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Pascua.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pascua 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.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 7684 8926 -14.95%
Count 4,321 3,370 24.73%
Proportion per 100k 1.46 1.25 15.50%

The history of the last name Pascua

The surname Pascua has its origins in Spain, and it is derived from the Spanish word "pascua," which means "Easter." This name likely has its roots in the medieval period, when many surnames were derived from religious or occupational terms.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pascua can be found in the Inquisition records of the 15th century, where a certain Juan Pascua was mentioned as a resident of Seville. During this time, the name was often spelled as "Paschua" or "Pascoa," reflecting the variations in spelling common in that era.

The name Pascua was also present in the records of the Spanish Reconquista, the centuries-long struggle between Christian and Moorish forces for control of the Iberian Peninsula. Several individuals with this surname fought alongside the Christian armies, such as Pedro Pascua, who participated in the siege of Granada in 1492.

In the 16th century, the Pascua family was among the early Spanish settlers in the Americas, with members of this family establishing themselves in various parts of the New World. One notable figure was Hernán Pascua, a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the 1520s.

As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Pascua name spread to other regions, including the Philippines, where several individuals bearing this surname held positions of authority during the Spanish colonial period. One such figure was Mariano Pascua, who served as the governor of the province of Ilocos Sur in the late 18th century.

Another notable bearer of the Pascua name was Juan Pascua, a Spanish soldier and explorer who was part of the expedition led by Juan de Oñate in the late 16th century. This expedition explored and established settlements in what is now the southwestern United States, including parts of New Mexico and Texas.

Throughout the centuries, the Pascua surname has been associated with various professions and achievements, from military service to religious orders and artistic pursuits. While the name may have originated from a religious term, it has since become a part of the diverse tapestry of Spanish and Hispanic cultures around the world.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pascua

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

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 Pascua was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 10.62% 459
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.12% 5
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 73.29% 3,167
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.12% 5
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 9.49% 410
Hispanic Origin 6.36% 275

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 Pascua has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 10.62% 10.89% -2.51%
Black 0.12% 0.39% -105.88%
Asian and Pacific Islander 73.29% 75.43% -2.88%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.12% 0.21% -54.55%
Two or More Races 9.49% 7.21% 27.31%
Hispanic 6.36% 5.88% 7.84%

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Pascua last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on October 13, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/pascua-surname-popularity/.

"Pascua last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/pascua-surname-popularity/. Accessed 13 October, 2024

Pascua last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/pascua-surname-popularity/.

Search for a name

Search for a first or last name to learn more about its origin, meaning, and more.

Simple as that.