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

Peralez, 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 Peralez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Peralez in America

Peralez is the 13525th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Peralez surname appeared 2,243 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 Peralez.

We can also compare 2010 data for Peralez 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 Peralez

The surname Peralez originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish personal name "Pedro" and the suffix "-ez," which denotes the patronymic form, meaning "son of." Thus, Peralez likely translates to "son of Pedro" or "son of Peter."

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Peralez surname can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a 10th-century manuscript from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain. In this document, a certain "Petralez" is mentioned as a landowner in the area.

During the Middle Ages, the Peralez family is known to have held properties and lands in various regions of Spain, including Castile, Aragon, and Andalusia. Some notable individuals bearing this surname from this period include Rodrigo Peralez, a nobleman and military commander who fought in the Reconquista against the Moors in the 13th century.

As the Spanish empire expanded, the Peralez name spread to the Americas during the colonial era. One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname in the New World is that of Juan Peralez, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century.

In the 17th century, a branch of the Peralez family settled in the region of New Mexico, where they became prominent landowners and ranchers. One of the most famous figures from this lineage is Manuel Peralez, a wealthy hacendado (landowner) and military leader who played a significant role in the defense of the region against Apache and Comanche raids in the late 18th century.

Another notable individual with the Peralez surname is María Josefa Peralez (1759-1838), a Spanish-Mexican landowner and philanthropist who donated a substantial portion of her fortune to various charitable causes in the city of Guadalajara, Mexico.

In the 19th century, José María Peralez (1810-1878) was a prominent lawyer, politician, and diplomat from Mexico who served as the country's ambassador to the United States and several European nations.

The Peralez surname has also been associated with various places and geographical features throughout Spain and Latin America. For example, there is a town called Peralejo in the province of Salamanca, Spain, and a Peralez River in the state of Coahuila, Mexico.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Peralez

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

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

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

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