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

Payo, 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 Payo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Payo in America

Payo is the 126765th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Payo surname appeared 135 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 Payo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Payo 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 Payo

The surname PAYO is believed to have originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Spanish word "payo," which means a peasant or a rustic person. This suggests that the name may have initially been used as a descriptive nickname for someone who lived a simple, rural lifestyle.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the PAYO surname can be found in the Cartulario de Eslonza, a 12th-century manuscript from the Monastery of Eslonza in León, Spain. This document mentions an individual named "Petro Payo" in the year 1175.

In the 13th century, the name appears in the Libro de la Montería, a hunting treatise commissioned by King Alfonso XI of Castile. This text includes references to several locations named "Payo" or "Payos," indicating that the surname may have been derived from a place name at some point.

During the 15th century, the PAYO surname can be found in the archives of the city of Seville. One notable individual from this time period was Juan Payo, a merchant who was involved in trade with the Americas in the early years of Spanish colonization.

In the 16th century, a prominent figure with the PAYO surname was Diego Payo, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro. He was born in Extremadura, Spain, around 1505 and died in Cusco, Peru, in 1561.

Another historical figure with the PAYO surname was María Payo Cossío, a Spanish noblewoman born in Asturias in the late 16th century. She was the wife of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, the founder of St. Augustine, Florida, and played a significant role in the early Spanish settlements in North America.

In the 18th century, José Payo Sanz was a Spanish architect and engineer who worked on several important projects, including the construction of the Royal Palace of Madrid and the renovation of the Alcázar of Segovia.

Throughout history, the PAYO surname has also been associated with various place names in Spain, such as Payo de Valdavia (Palencia), Payo de Ojeda (Burgos), and Payo Rubio (Soria), among others.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Payo

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

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

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

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