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

Retano, 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 Retano surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Retano in America

Retano is the 134712th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Retano surname appeared 125 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 Retano.

We can also compare 2010 data for Retano 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 Retano

The surname Retano is of Spanish origin, derived from the region of Cantabria in northern Spain, where it first appeared during the 11th century. It is believed to have originated from a Roman place name, possibly related to the Latin word "retanus," meaning "a kind of oak."

In medieval records, the name is found spelled in various ways, such as Retana, Retano, and Rietano. One of the earliest known references is in the Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a document from the 14th century that recorded landholdings and taxation in the region.

Some notable individuals with the Retano surname include Pedro Retano, a Spanish soldier who fought in the Conquest of Mexico under Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. Another is Juan Retano, a 17th-century Spanish explorer who led expeditions to the Philippines and helped establish settlements in the Mariana Islands.

In the 18th century, Francisco Retano was a prominent Spanish painter known for his religious works, such as the altarpiece at the Church of San Pedro in Seville. During the same period, Juana Retano was a renowned writer and poet from Cadiz, whose work was published in several literary anthologies of the time.

Moving to the 19th century, Enrique Retano was a Spanish politician and diplomat who served as a ambassador to various European countries, including France and the United Kingdom. He was born in 1824 and passed away in 1901.

The Retano surname has also been associated with several place names in Spain, such as Retana de la Mancha, a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, and Retana de la Peña, a village in the province of Burgos.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Retano

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

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

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

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