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

Prieto, 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 Prieto surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Prieto in America

Prieto is the 1833rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Prieto surname appeared 19,520 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 7 people would have the surname Prieto.

We can also compare 2010 data for Prieto 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 Prieto

The surname Prieto is of Spanish origin, derived from the adjective 'prieto' meaning 'dark' or 'swarthy'. This name likely originated in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Prieto can be found in the Libro de la Montería, a 14th-century manuscript detailing the hunting exploits of King Alfonso XI of Castile. This document mentions a certain Pedro Prieto, a nobleman from the region of León.

In the 15th century, the name appeared in various records from the Kingdom of Aragon, such as the census of Valencia from 1489, which listed several Prieto families. During this time, the name was sometimes spelled as 'Prieto' or 'Prieto'.

The surname Prieto may have also been derived from certain place names or locations within Spain, such as the village of Prieto in the province of Soria, or the municipality of Prieto in Asturias. These place names likely originated from the Spanish word 'prieto', referring to the dark or swarthy complexion of the inhabitants.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Prieto was Juan Prieto de la Cerda (c. 1460-1522), a Spanish nobleman and military commander who served under the Catholic Monarchs during the Reconquista and the conquest of Granada.

Another notable figure was Melchor Prieto (c. 1516-1596), a Spanish poet and humanist who played a significant role in the literary circles of the Spanish Renaissance.

In the 17th century, Antonio Prieto (1608-1667) was a Spanish painter renowned for his religious works, particularly those depicting the Virgin Mary and various saints.

During the 18th century, José Prieto (1730-1798) was a prominent Spanish architect who designed several notable buildings in Madrid, including the Church of San Marcos and the Palacio de Liria.

In the 19th century, Tomás Prieto (1808-1885) was a Chilean politician and writer who served as the President of Chile from 1831 to 1841.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Prieto

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

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

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

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