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

Saldanha, 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 Saldanha surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Saldanha in America

Saldanha is the 44730th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Saldanha surname appeared 480 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 Saldanha.

We can also compare 2010 data for Saldanha 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 Saldanha

The surname Saldanha originated in Portugal, with records dating back to the 14th century. It is believed to have derived from the Portuguese word "salda," meaning a thin, flat cake made of flour and water. This surname likely referred to someone who made or sold these cakes.

The name is also associated with the town of Saldanha in Portugal, which may have been named after a person with the surname Saldanha. The earliest known record of the name appears in a Portuguese manuscript from 1352, where a nobleman named Joao Saldanha is mentioned.

In the 15th century, the Saldanha family became prominent in Portugal, with several members holding high positions in the royal court. One notable figure was Vasco de Gama Saldanha, a Portuguese explorer who was the first European to reach India by sea in 1498.

Another famous bearer of the name was Antonio de Saldanha, a 16th-century Portuguese nobleman and military commander who played a significant role in the Portuguese conquest of India. He was born in 1503 and died in 1575.

During the colonial era, the Saldanha surname spread to various parts of the Portuguese Empire, including Brazil, Africa, and Asia. In Brazil, the name is particularly common in the states of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo.

In the late 18th century, a prominent member of the Saldanha family was João Carlos de Saldanha Oliveira e Daun, a Portuguese military officer and statesman who served as the Prime Minister of Portugal from 1808 to 1810.

Another noteworthy figure was Duarte Nuno Saldanha da Gama, a 19th-century Portuguese nobleman, politician, and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the President of the Council of Ministers.

The Saldanha surname has also been found in other European countries, such as Spain and Italy, likely due to migration and intermarriage between noble families.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Saldanha

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

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

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

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