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

Salvatierra, 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 Salvatierra surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Salvatierra in America

Salvatierra is the 14761st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Salvatierra surname appeared 2,012 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 Salvatierra.

We can also compare 2010 data for Salvatierra 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 Salvatierra

The surname Salvatierra has its origins in Spain, dating back to the medieval period. It is a compound word derived from the Spanish "salva" meaning "to save" and "tierra" meaning "land" or "earth." This suggests that the name may have been given to someone who was responsible for safeguarding or protecting land, perhaps a landowner or a feudal lord.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Salvatierra can be found in the Repartimiento de Sevilla, a document from the 13th century that details the distribution of land and properties in the city of Seville following its conquest by King Ferdinand III of Castile in 1248. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Salvatierra, indicating that they were among the Castilian noblemen and soldiers who participated in the conquest and received land grants in the region.

The name Salvatierra is also associated with several municipalities and towns in Spain, such as Salvatierra de los Barros in Extremadura, Salvatierra de Miño in Galicia, and Salvatierra de Álava in the Basque Country. These place names likely originated from the same root words as the surname, suggesting that the name may have been derived from a person's connection to these locations.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Salvatierra was Gonzalo de Salvatierra, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the 16th century. He was born around 1490 and played a significant role in the famous Battle of Otumba in 1520.

Another notable figure bearing the surname Salvatierra was Luis de Salvatierra, a Spanish Jesuit missionary who lived in the 17th century. He was born in 1600 and is known for his missionary work among the indigenous peoples of the region that is now part of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. He established several missions and worked tirelessly to convert the native populations to Christianity.

In the 18th century, Pedro de Salvatierra was a Spanish military officer and explorer who played a crucial role in the colonization of the Baja California peninsula. He was born in 1668 and is credited with founding the first permanent Spanish settlement in the region, the Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó, in 1697.

Moving into the 19th century, José María Salvatierra y Barriales was a Spanish politician and lawyer who served as a deputy in the Cortes Generales (the Spanish parliament) during the reign of Isabella II. He was born in 1808 and was a prominent figure in the liberal movement of his time.

Finally, in the 20th century, Manuel Salvatierra was a Spanish painter and sculptor who gained recognition for his Cubist and Surrealist works. He was born in 1904 and is considered one of the most influential artists of the Spanish avant-garde movement in the early 20th century.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Salvatierra

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

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

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

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