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

Puga, 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 Puga surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Puga in America

Puga is the 4977th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Puga surname appeared 7,056 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Puga.

We can also compare 2010 data for Puga 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 Puga

The surname Puga is of Spanish origin, with its roots traced back to the northern regions of Spain, particularly the Basque Country and Navarre. The name is believed to have derived from the Basque word "puga," meaning a small hill or mound.

In the early medieval period, the name Puga was commonly found in the areas around the Pyrenees Mountains, where the Basque language and culture have a strong presence. The earliest recorded instances of the surname can be found in documents dating back to the 11th and 12th centuries.

One notable historical reference to the name Puga is in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript that was a pivotal guide for pilgrims traveling the Camino de Santiago. The manuscript mentions a village called "Puga" along the famous pilgrimage route, suggesting the name's association with a specific location.

During the 13th century, the name Puga gained prominence in the Kingdom of Navarre, where several members of the nobility bore this surname. One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name was Sancho Puga, a nobleman who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries.

In the 15th century, the Puga family played a significant role in the conquest and settlement of the Canary Islands, with Juan Puga being one of the prominent figures in the expeditions led by Juan de Bethencourt.

Another notable individual with the surname Puga was Vasco de Puga, a Spanish explorer and conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the early 16th century. Vasco de Puga was born in Castile around 1490 and was one of the few survivors of the famous Noche Triste (Sad Night) during the Siege of Tenochtitlan in 1520.

In the realm of literature, one of the most celebrated figures with the surname Puga was María de Zayas y Sotomayor (1590-1661), a Spanish novelist and poet who is considered one of the earliest and most important women writers in the Spanish Golden Age.

As the centuries passed, the Puga surname spread across Spain and its colonies, with many individuals bearing this name making significant contributions in various fields, including politics, military, arts, and sciences.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Puga

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

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

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

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