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

Santistevan, 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 Santistevan surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Santistevan in America

Santistevan is the 12031st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Santistevan surname appeared 2,595 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 Santistevan.

We can also compare 2010 data for Santistevan 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 Santistevan

The surname Santistevan originates from Spain, with its roots tracing back to the medieval period, specifically the Reconquista era when the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula were engaged in a protracted struggle to reclaim territories from the Moors.

The name is believed to have derived from the Spanish phrase "Santo Esteban," which translates to "Saint Stephen," likely honoring the first Christian martyr. It may have been adopted as a surname by individuals residing in or near a town or village named after the saint.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Santistevan surname can be found in historical documents from the 13th century, particularly in regions such as Aragon and Castile. In these documents, variations in spelling, including "Santiesteban" and "Sancti Stephani," were common, reflecting the linguistic and orthographic conventions of the time.

In the 15th century, during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella, the Santistevan family played a notable role in the reconquest of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain. Juan de Santistevan, a military commander, was among those who contributed to the eventual fall of Granada in 1492.

Another prominent figure bearing the Santistevan surname was Pedro de Santistevan, a Spanish explorer who accompanied Francisco Vázquez de Coronado on his expedition to the southwestern regions of present-day United States in the 16th century. Santistevan played a significant role in the exploration and documentation of these territories.

In the realm of literature, the Spanish playwright and poet Lope de Vega, born in 1562, included characters with the surname Santistevan in some of his works, reflecting the presence and recognition of this name within Spanish society during the Golden Age.

The Santistevan surname later spread beyond Spain's borders, carried by individuals who migrated to the Americas, particularly to regions that were part of the Spanish colonial empire. In present-day Mexico and parts of the southwestern United States, the name Santistevan can be traced back to these early Spanish settlers.

Throughout history, the Santistevan surname has been associated with various notable individuals, including Manuela Santistevan, a 19th-century Mexican artist renowned for her work in the casta painting genre, depicting racial mixtures in colonial Mexico.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Santistevan

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

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

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

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