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

Pinilla, 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 Pinilla surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pinilla in America

Pinilla is the 31107th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pinilla surname appeared 746 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 Pinilla.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pinilla 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 Pinilla

The surname Pinilla originated in Spain, with the earliest records of the name dating back to the late 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "piña," meaning "pine cone," suggesting that the name may have referred to someone who lived near a pine forest or worked with pine trees.

Pinilla is considered a locational surname, meaning it likely originated from a specific place or region. One theory suggests that the name may have come from the town of Pinilla de Toro in the province of Zamora, Spain. Alternatively, it could have originated from Pinilla del Valle in the province of Madrid or Pinilla de Molina in the province of Guadalajara.

In the 16th century, the name appeared in various historical records, such as the census records of the Kingdom of Aragon and the Catastro de Ensenada, a census conducted in Spain during the reign of King Ferdinand VI in the mid-18th century.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Pinilla was Juan de Pinilla, a Spanish explorer and navigator who participated in the Spanish conquest of the Americas in the early 16th century. Another notable figure was Diego de Pinilla y Alonso, a Spanish soldier and conquistador who fought alongside Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the 1520s.

In the 17th century, María de Pinilla was a renowned Spanish painter known for her religious and mythological works. Her birth and death dates are uncertain, but she was active in the early to mid-1600s.

Moving into the 18th century, Francisco Pinilla y Vizcaíno (1711-1794) was a Spanish military engineer and architect who designed several notable buildings and fortifications in Spain and its colonies.

In more recent history, Ignacio Pinilla (1888-1966) was a Spanish politician and diplomat who served as the Spanish Ambassador to the United States during the 1940s and 1950s.

While these are just a few examples, the Pinilla surname has a rich and diverse history, spanning various fields and regions over several centuries. Its origins can be traced back to the late medieval period in Spain, and it has since spread worldwide, reflecting the global reach of Spanish exploration and migration.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pinilla

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

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

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

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