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

Peñalver, 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 Peñalver surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Peñalver in America

Peñalver is the 35721st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Peñalver surname appeared 629 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 Peñalver.

We can also compare 2010 data for Peñalver 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 Peñalver

The surname Penalver has its origins in Spain, where it first emerged in the late medieval period. It is thought to be derived from the Spanish words "peña" meaning rock or cliff, and "alver" which may be a corruption of the word "albus" meaning white. This suggests that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a white cliff or rocky outcrop.

One of the earliest recorded references to the Penalver name can be found in a 14th century document from the region of Aragon, where a certain Pedro de Penalver is mentioned as a landowner. This indicates that the name was already well-established in parts of Spain by this time.

In the 16th century, there are records of a Gonzalo Penalver who served as a soldier in the Spanish army during the conquest of Mexico. His participation in this historic event suggests that the Penalver family may have been of some standing and influence.

During the 17th century, the name appears in various church records and legal documents from the city of Valencia and surrounding areas. One notable bearer of the name was Diego Penalver, a wealthy merchant who was involved in the lucrative trade between Spain and its colonies in the Americas.

As the Spanish Empire expanded across the globe, the Penalver name spread to far-flung corners of the world. In the late 18th century, a man named Juan Penalver was appointed as the governor of Spanish Florida, serving in this role from 1786 to 1789.

Another historically significant figure was José Penalver y Cárdenas, who was born in Cuba in 1767. He played a prominent role in the Cuban struggle for independence from Spain and is remembered as a patriot and revolutionary leader.

Throughout the centuries, the Penalver name has undergone various spelling variations, including Peñalver, Peñalvera, and Peñalvarez, reflecting the regional dialects and linguistic evolutions of the Spanish language. Despite these variations, the core essence of the name and its connection to the rugged landscapes of Spain endures.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Peñalver

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Peñalver, 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!