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

Solano, 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 Solano surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Solano in America

Solano is the 1430th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Solano surname appeared 24,881 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 8 people would have the surname Solano.

We can also compare 2010 data for Solano 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 Solano

The surname Solano originated in Spain, with its earliest known records dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Latin word "solanus," which means "eastern" or "of the east wind." This suggests that the name may have been initially used to describe someone who lived in an easterly location or was associated with the east wind.

The name is believed to have originated in the region of Andalusia, particularly in the provinces of Seville and Cadiz. Solano was a common surname among the Sephardic Jewish population of Spain before their expulsion in the late 15th century, indicating that the name may have had Jewish roots in its early days.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Solano surname can be found in the Repartimiento de Sevilla, a document from the 13th century that recorded the distribution of land and properties among the settlers of the newly conquered city of Seville. The name appears in various spellings, such as Solano, Sullano, and Sollano.

In the 15th century, a notable figure bearing the Solano surname was Hernán Solano, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Guatemala alongside Pedro de Alvarado. Another historical figure was Francisco Solano, a Franciscan missionary and saint who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries and is known as the Apostle of Peru.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Solano surname was prominent in various regions of Spain, particularly in Andalusia and Extremadura. One notable individual was Francisco Solano de Luque, a Spanish soldier and explorer who played a crucial role in the foundation of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in the early 17th century.

In the 18th century, Antonio Solano y Bote, a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator, served as the Viceroy of New Granada (present-day Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador) from 1786 to 1789. His contributions to the development of the region were significant.

Another prominent figure bearing the Solano surname was Gaspar de Solano y Pereyruela, a Spanish painter who lived in the late 17th and early 18th centuries and was known for his religious and mythological works.

As the name spread throughout Spain and its colonies, it also became associated with various place names, such as Solano de la Orden in Extremadura and Solano de Cabañas in Castile and León.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Solano

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

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

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

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