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

Santillano, 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 Santillano surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Santillano in America

Santillano is the 28525th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Santillano surname appeared 836 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 Santillano.

We can also compare 2010 data for Santillano 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 Santillano

The surname Santillano originated in Spain, specifically in the region of Castile. It likely emerged during the medieval period, around the 12th or 13th century. The name is derived from the placename "Santillana", which was a town located in the province of Cantabria, in northern Spain.

The placename "Santillana" itself is believed to have its roots in the Latin word "sancta" (meaning "holy") and the personal name "Ana" or "Anna". This suggests that the town may have been named after a saint with that name, or perhaps a church or monastery dedicated to Saint Anna.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Santillano can be found in the "Libro Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla" (Book of the Bequeathed Towns of Castile), a historical document from the 14th century that recorded information about land ownership and settlements in the region.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the surname Santillano. One of the most famous was Iñigo López de Mendoza, Marquis of Santillana (1398-1458), a renowned Spanish poet and nobleman who played a significant role in the literary and cultural renaissance of the 15th century in Spain.

Another prominent figure was Juan de Santillano (c. 1480-c. 1560), a Spanish lawyer and jurist who served as a judge in the Royal Chancery of Granada and wrote extensively on legal matters.

In the 16th century, Alonso de Santillano (c. 1530-1590) was a Spanish navigator and explorer who participated in several expeditions to the Americas and helped establish settlements in what is now Mexico.

Sebastián de Santillano (1551-1617) was a Spanish Jesuit priest and missionary who spent many years working among the indigenous populations of what is now Paraguay and Argentina.

Francisco Santillano (1610-1680) was a Spanish painter active in the Baroque period, known for his religious works and portraiture.

Over time, the surname Santillano likely spread beyond its original region as people migrated to different parts of Spain and eventually to other countries, particularly in the Americas during the Spanish colonial era.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Santillano

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

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

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

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