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

Plas, 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 Plas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Plas in America

Plas is the 47429th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Plas surname appeared 447 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 Plas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Plas 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 Plas

The surname PLAS originated in Spain and can be traced back to the early 15th century. It is derived from the Spanish word "plaza," meaning a public square or open space. This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who lived near or worked in a town plaza.

In the late 15th century, the name appears in historical records from the Spanish city of Valencia. One notable early bearer was Juan PLAS, a merchant who lived in Valencia during the 1480s. His name is recorded in several business transactions from that time period.

During the 16th century, the name spread to other parts of Spain, particularly the regions of Catalonia and Aragon. The variant spelling "PLASS" can also be found in some records from this era, likely due to regional dialects and differences in recordkeeping.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name outside of Spain is in a 1612 census record from the Kingdom of Naples, which was then under Spanish rule. The record lists a certain Pedro PLAS, a soldier from Catalonia stationed in Naples.

In the 18th century, the name appears to have made its way to the Americas with Spanish colonists. José PLAS, born in 1735 in Havana, Cuba, was a prominent landowner and plantation owner in the region.

Another notable bearer of the name was Miguel PLAS, a Spanish military officer who fought in the Napoleonic Wars. Born in 1780 in Zaragoza, Spain, he rose to the rank of Colonel and was awarded several honors for his service.

During the 19th century, the name can be found in various parts of the Spanish-speaking world, including Mexico, where Joaquín PLAS, born in 1822 in Veracruz, was a prominent politician and lawyer.

In the late 19th century, the name also appears in historical records from the Philippines, which was formerly a Spanish colony. One example is Manuel PLAS, born in 1872 in Manila, who was a renowned writer and poet during the Philippine Revolution against Spain.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Plas

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

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

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

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