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

Paz, 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 Paz surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Paz in America

Paz is the 1384th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Paz surname appeared 25,574 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 9 people would have the surname Paz.

We can also compare 2010 data for Paz 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 Paz

The surname Paz originated in Spain and Portugal during medieval times. It is derived from the Latin word "pax" meaning peace. The name may have been initially given to a peacemaker or someone who came from a place associated with peace.

The earliest known record of the name Paz dates back to the 13th century in Spain. In Portugal, the surname Paz is sometimes spelled as Paes or Paiz, which are variations of the same root word. Some early examples include Pero Paz, a nobleman from Galicia mentioned in records from the 1200s, and Rodrigo Paz, a knight from Seville who fought in the Reconquista in the 1300s.

One of the most famous historical figures with the surname Paz was Juan de Paz, a Spanish explorer and navigator born around 1470. He accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493 and became one of the first Europeans to set foot in Puerto Rico.

In the 16th century, the Paz family was prominent in the town of Trujillo in Extremadura, Spain. Notable members include Pedro Paz, a scholar and writer born in 1533, and Juan de Paz y Caso, a lawyer and judge born in 1578.

Moving to the 17th century, Baltasar de Paz, born in 1601 in Seville, was a renowned Baroque painter known for his religious works. His contemporary, Antonio de Paz, born in 1639 in Madrid, was a celebrated architect who designed several churches and palaces in the Spanish capital.

As the name spread beyond the Iberian Peninsula, Paz families could be found in various parts of Europe and the Americas. For example, Jean-Jacques Paz, born in 1721 in Strasbourg, France, was a notable mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to celestial mechanics.

While the surname Paz has a rich history and can be traced back to medieval times in Spain and Portugal, its origins ultimately lie in the Latin concept of peace, reflecting the diverse cultural and linguistic influences that have shaped European surnames over the centuries.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Paz

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

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

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

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