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

Ribera, 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 Ribera surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ribera in America

Ribera is the 16284th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ribera surname appeared 1,771 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Ribera.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ribera 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 Ribera

The surname Ribera originates from Spain, with its earliest known instances dating back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "ribera," which means "riverbank" or "shore," suggesting that the name may have been given to people who lived near a river or coastal area.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ribera can be found in the "Repartimiento de Sevilla," a 13th-century document that recorded the distribution of lands and properties among the Christian conquerors after the reconquest of Seville in 1248. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Ribera, indicating their presence in the region during that time.

In the 14th century, the name Ribera appears in various historical records, including the "Libro de Repartimiento de Lorca," which documented the distribution of lands in the city of Lorca, located in the region of Murcia. This suggests that the name was well-established in different parts of Spain by that time.

One notable figure from history with the surname Ribera is Jusepe de Ribera (1591-1652), a Spanish Baroque painter and printmaker known for his dramatic and realistic depictions of religious and mythological subjects. He was born in Játiva, Valencia, and his works can be found in many prestigious museums around the world.

Another prominent individual with the surname Ribera is Rodrigo Ribera de Villadrando (c. 1500-1570), a Spanish conquistador and explorer who participated in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro. He was granted encomiendas (land grants) in recognition of his services.

In the literary realm, Tomás Ribera (1618-1670) was a Spanish playwright and poet from Valencia. His works, which included plays and poetry, were influential during the Spanish Golden Age of literature.

The surname Ribera also has connections to various place names in Spain. For instance, there is a municipality called Ribera Alta in the province of Valencia, and another called Ribera del Duero, which is a famous wine-producing region located along the Duero River in the northern part of the country.

Throughout history, the surname Ribera has been subject to various spellings and variations, such as Ribeira, Riveira, and Rivero, reflecting regional differences and linguistic evolution over time.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ribera

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

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

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

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