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

Pulgar, 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 Pulgar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Pulgar in America

Pulgar is the 75564th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Pulgar surname appeared 255 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 Pulgar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Pulgar 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 Pulgar

The surname Pulgar originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "pulgar," which means "thumb." This suggests that the name may have been a descriptive surname given to someone with a distinctive thumb or a nickname referring to the thumb.

Pulgar is believed to have originated in the region of Castile, specifically in the provinces of Palencia and Valladolid. The earliest recorded instances of the name can be traced back to the 13th and 14th centuries in historical records and documents from these areas.

One of the earliest known bearers of the Pulgar surname was Hernando del Pulgar, a renowned Spanish historian and chronicler who lived from 1436 to 1493. He served as the official chronicler to the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, and is best known for his work "Crónica de los Reyes Católicos," which documented the events of their reign.

In the 15th century, there was a notable family called Pulgar that held significant influence and power in the city of Toledo. This family produced several notable individuals, including Hernán Pérez del Pulgar, a military commander and one of the heroes of the conquest of Granada in 1492.

Another prominent figure with the Pulgar surname was Fernando del Pulgar, a Spanish writer and poet who lived from 1436 to 1492. He was a contemporary of Hernando del Pulgar and is best known for his literary works, including "Letras" and "Coplas de la Pasión."

During the 16th century, the Pulgar family continued to hold influence in Spain. One noteworthy member was Juan Vázquez del Pulgar, a Spanish nobleman and military commander who served under King Charles I of Spain (also known as Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor).

Throughout the centuries, the Pulgar surname has been found in various regions of Spain, and it has also spread to other parts of the world through Spanish colonization and immigration. However, its roots can be traced back to the medieval period in the Castilian region of Spain, where it originated as a descriptive surname related to the thumb.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Pulgar

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

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

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

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