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

Peñalopez, 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 Peñalopez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Peñalopez in America

Peñalopez is the 112568th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Peñalopez surname appeared 156 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 Peñalopez.

The history of the last name Peñalopez

The surname PENALOPEZ is believed to have originated in Spain during the late medieval period, likely in the 15th or 16th century. It is a combination of two Spanish words, "pena" meaning "rock" or "cliff," and "lopez," a patronymic surname derived from the given name "Lope," which itself is a contraction of the Spanish form of the name "Ludovicus" or "Louis."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname PENALOPEZ can be found in a 16th-century Spanish military record, where a soldier named Juan PENALOPEZ is mentioned as having served in the Spanish army during the Conquest of Mexico under Hernán Cortés. This suggests that the name may have been associated with individuals from the Spanish regions of Castile or Extremadura, from where many of the conquistadors originated.

In the 17th century, a notable figure bearing the surname PENALOPEZ was Miguel PENALOPEZ, a Spanish painter and engraver who was active in Madrid between 1650 and 1680. His works, which included religious paintings and engravings, can still be found in some Spanish churches and museums.

During the 18th century, the PENALOPEZ surname appeared in several Spanish colonial records from the Americas, particularly in Mexico and Peru. One such record mentions a landowner named Diego PENALOPEZ, who was granted a large hacienda in the Mexican state of Veracruz in the 1780s.

In the 19th century, a prominent figure with the surname PENALOPEZ was José María PENALOPEZ, a Mexican politician and lawyer who served as a member of the Congress of Mexico from 1848 to 1852. He was born in Puebla in 1810 and was known for his advocacy of liberal reforms and civil rights.

Another notable individual with the PENALOPEZ surname was Pedro PENALOPEZ, a Spanish military officer who fought in the Carlist Wars of the 1830s and 1840s. He was born in Seville in 1805 and rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Spanish army before his death in 1868.

While the PENALOPEZ surname is not among the most common in Spain or Latin America, it has a rich history that spans several centuries and can be traced back to its origins in medieval Spain. Its combination of Spanish words and patronymic structure reflects the cultural and linguistic traditions of the Iberian Peninsula.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Peñalopez

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

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 Peñalopez 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.

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

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

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