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

Portillo, 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 Portillo surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Portillo in America

Portillo is the 914th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Portillo surname appeared 37,890 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 13 people would have the surname Portillo.

We can also compare 2010 data for Portillo 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 Portillo

The surname Portillo is of Spanish origin, derived from the Latin word "portilla," which means "small door" or "gate." It is believed to have first emerged in the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century, in the regions of Castile and Aragon in Spain.

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Portillo can be found in the "Becerro de las Behetrías," a 14th-century manuscript that documented landowners and their properties in various regions of Spain. This document mentions individuals with the surname Portillo, indicating that the name was already established by that time.

The name Portillo is often associated with place names, as it was common for people to adopt surnames based on the locations where they resided or originated from. Some examples of place names that may have contributed to the emergence of the surname include Portillo, a municipality in the province of Valladolid, and Portillo de Soria, a town in the province of Soria, both located in Spain.

One notable individual bearing the surname Portillo was Gonzalo de Portillo, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Guatemala in the 16th century, serving under Pedro de Alvarado. Gonzalo de Portillo was born around 1500 and played a significant role in the subjugation of the indigenous populations in the region.

Another prominent figure with the surname Portillo was Juan Bautista Portillo, a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary who lived in the 17th century. He was born in 1610 and traveled to South America, where he worked as a missionary among the indigenous communities in present-day Bolivia and Peru.

In the 18th century, Andrés Portillo y Galindo, a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator, served as the governor of the Captaincy General of Guatemala from 1768 to 1770. He was born in 1715 and played a crucial role in the administration of the Spanish colonies in Central America.

During the 19th century, José María Portillo y Gálvez, a Guatemalan politician and diplomat, held various important positions, including serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and as the Guatemalan ambassador to the United States. He was born in 1816 and played a significant role in the political and diplomatic affairs of Guatemala during his lifetime.

In more recent history, Álvaro Portillo y Diez de Sollano, a Spanish prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, served as the second Prelate of Opus Dei from 1975 to 1994. He was born in 1914 and was known for his efforts in promoting the teachings and principles of Opus Dei, a Catholic institution founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Portillo

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

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

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

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