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

Pizarro, 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 Pizarro surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pizarro in America

Pizarro is the 4755th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pizarro surname appeared 7,446 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 people would have the surname Pizarro.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pizarro 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 Pizarro

The surname Pizarro originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to be derived from the Spanish word "pizarra," which means "slate" or "slate stone." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who worked with slate, such as a slate miner or roofer.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Pizarro can be found in various Spanish documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is the Repartimiento de Sevilla, a record of land distribution in the city of Seville after its conquest by the Christian kings in 1248. The name Pizarro appears in this document, indicating that individuals with this surname were present in the region at that time.

One of the most famous bearers of the Pizarro surname was Francisco Pizarro (c. 1478-1541), a Spanish conquistador who led the expedition that conquered the Inca Empire in modern-day Peru. His conquest of the Inca Empire and subsequent exploitation of its resources played a significant role in the Spanish colonization of South America.

Another notable figure with the Pizarro surname was Hernando Pizarro (c. 1508-1578), the younger half-brother of Francisco Pizarro. Hernando accompanied his brother on the conquest of Peru and served as a military leader and administrator in the Spanish colonial government.

In the 16th century, Juan Pizarro (c. 1511-1536), a cousin of Francisco Pizarro, also played a role in the conquest of Peru. He participated in several battles against the Inca forces and was eventually killed during an indigenous uprising.

During the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the Pizarro name became associated with various place names in the regions conquered by the Pizarro brothers. For example, the city of Trujillo in Peru was founded by Francisco Pizarro and initially named after his birthplace in Spain.

Throughout the centuries, the Pizarro surname has continued to be present in various parts of Spain, as well as in Spanish-speaking regions of Latin America, particularly in Peru, where the legacy of the Pizarro family's conquests remains significant.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pizarro

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

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

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

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