Sacristan last name popularity, history, and meaning

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

Meaning of Sacristan

A surname referring to a person who cared for the church furnishings and sacred vessels.

Sacristan, 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 Sacristan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sacristan in America

Sacristan is the 152628th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sacristan surname appeared 107 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 Sacristan.

The history of the last name Sacristan

The surname Sacristan is of Spanish and Portuguese origin, derived from the ecclesiastical word "sacristán" meaning "sexton" or "church officer". It likely emerged in the medieval period when many surnames began to take shape based on occupations and roles.

The name can be traced back to the Latin word "sacrista", which referred to a person who had charge of the sacristy, the room in a church where sacred vessels and vestments were kept. Over time, this evolved into the Spanish and Portuguese "sacristán".

One of the earliest recorded references to the name Sacristan can be found in the "Libro de las Behetrías" (Book of Bequests) from the 14th century, which was a record of lands and properties in the Crown of Castile. This document mentions individuals with the surname Sacristan who were associated with various churches and monasteries.

In the 15th century, the name appears in records from the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in Portugal and Spain. For instance, João Sacristan was a Portuguese knight who fought in the conquest of Ceuta in 1415, while in Spain, Pedro Sacristan was a renowned sculptor and architect who worked on the Cathedral of Seville in the late 15th century.

As the name spread across the Spanish and Portuguese empires, it can be found in historical documents from the Americas and other regions. Notable figures include Diego Sacristan, a Spanish conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico in the 16th century, and Fray Bartolomé Sacristan, a Spanish Franciscan missionary who evangelized in New Mexico in the 17th century.

In the 18th century, José Sacristan was a prominent Spanish painter and engraver, best known for his works depicting religious themes and portraits of the Spanish nobility. Another notable individual was Manuel Sacristan, a Portuguese navigator and explorer who participated in several expeditions to Africa and the Indian Ocean in the late 18th century.

The name Sacristan has also been associated with various place names, particularly in Spain and Portugal, such as the villages of Sacristán and Sacristán de Campos in the provinces of Cuenca and Segovia, respectively. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname Sacristan who lived in or were associated with those locations.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sacristan

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

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 Sacristan was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only (S)% (S)
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.00% 0
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.00% 0
Hispanic Origin 95.33% 102

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.

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

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

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"Sacristan last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on December 22, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/sacristan-surname-popularity/.

"Sacristan last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/sacristan-surname-popularity/. Accessed 22 December, 2024

Sacristan last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/sacristan-surname-popularity/.

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