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

Salizar, 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 Salizar surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Salizar in America

Salizar is the 85659th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Salizar surname appeared 218 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 Salizar.

We can also compare 2010 data for Salizar 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 Salizar

The surname Salizar originates from the Basque Country, a region straddling the border between Spain and France. Its roots can be traced back to the 11th century when the name first appeared in the Basque provincial records.

The name Salizar is believed to be derived from the Basque words "sali" meaning willow and "zar" meaning old, suggesting a connection to an ancient willow tree or a place where willows grew abundantly. In its earliest form, the name was spelled "Salitzar" or "Salizarr".

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Salizar surname appears in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a medieval manuscript from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla, which dates back to the 12th century. The document mentions a certain "Lope Salizar" as a landowner in the region.

In the 13th century, the name Salizar can be found in the Becerro Galicano de las Behetrías de Castilla, a historical record of landowners and their properties in the Kingdom of Castile. This document lists a "García Salizar" as a nobleman holding lands in the village of Quintanilla de las Viñas.

One of the earliest prominent figures bearing the Salizar surname was Juan Salizar, a 15th-century Basque nobleman who served as a military commander during the Reconquista, the campaign to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Moorish rule. His exploits are documented in the chronicles of the time.

Another notable Salizar was Catalina Salizar, a 16th-century Spanish noblewoman who was a prominent benefactor of the arts and patron of the renowned painter El Greco. She commissioned several works from the artist, including the famous altarpiece for the Church of Santo Tomé in Toledo.

In the 17th century, the Salizar family produced several notable clergy members, including Fray Pedro Salizar, a Franciscan friar and scholar who authored several theological treatises. His contemporaries included Juana Salizar, a 17th-century nun and mystic whose writings on spirituality gained her a reputation for piety.

The Salizar surname also spread to the Americas during the Spanish colonization, with several individuals bearing the name leaving their mark on the New World. One such figure was Diego Salizar, a 16th-century conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés in the conquest of Mexico and later settled in the region.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Salizar

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

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

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

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