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

Piña, 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 Piña surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Piña in America

Piña is the 1403rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Piña surname appeared 25,293 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 Piña.

We can also compare 2010 data for Piña 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 Piña

The surname Pina is believed to have originated in Spain, specifically in the Catalonia region. It is thought to derive from the Latin word "pinus," meaning pine tree, suggesting that the name may have been adopted by someone who lived near a pine forest or a place where pine trees were abundant.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Pina dates back to the 13th century, when it appeared in records from the town of Pina de Ebro in Aragon, Spain. This town's name is thought to be derived from the Latin word "pinna," meaning pinnacle or summit, possibly referring to a prominent hilltop or mountain peak in the area.

In the 14th century, the name Pina was found in a manuscript from the Monastery of Santa Maria de Huerta in Soria, Spain. This manuscript mentioned a monk named Pedro Pina, who lived and worked at the monastery during that time.

The Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landholdings in England compiled in 1086, does not contain any references to the surname Pina, suggesting that the name was not widespread in England during the Norman conquest.

One notable figure with the surname Pina was Pedro Juan de Lastanosa y Pina (1605-1684), a Spanish scholar and collector of antiquities from Huesca, Aragon. He amassed a significant collection of art, books, and archaeological artifacts, which was considered one of the finest private collections in Spain at the time.

Another historical figure with the surname Pina was Juan de Pina (c. 1470-1524), a Spanish chronicler and historian who served as the official chronicler of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella. He is best known for his work "Crónica de los Reyes Católicos," which documented the reign of these monarchs and their conquest of Granada.

In the 16th century, the name Pina was also found in records from the town of Pinilla del Valle in Madrid, Spain, suggesting that the name may have been derived from a place name related to pine trees or pine forests.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Pina outside of Spain was in the 17th century, when a Portuguese explorer named Gaspar Pina de Melo (c. 1592-1628) traveled to Brazil and explored the Amazon region.

In the 18th century, a Spanish military officer named Antonio de Pina y Maestre (1720-1792) served as the Governor of Spanish Florida and played a significant role in the defense of St. Augustine during the American Revolutionary War.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Piña

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

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

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

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