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

Teniente, 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 Teniente surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Teniente in America

Teniente is the 32203rd most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Teniente surname appeared 716 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 Teniente.

We can also compare 2010 data for Teniente 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 Teniente

The surname TENIENTE is of Spanish origin and dates back to the medieval period. It is derived from the Spanish word "teniente," which means "lieutenant" or "deputy." The name likely originated as a descriptive term for someone who held a military or administrative position of authority under a superior officer or official.

In medieval Spain, surnames often reflected a person's occupation, rank, or position within society. The surname TENIENTE may have been given to individuals who served as lieutenants or deputies in the Spanish military or government. It could also have been bestowed upon the descendants of such individuals, becoming a hereditary surname.

The earliest recorded instances of the surname TENIENTE can be found in historical documents and records from various regions of Spain, such as Castile, Aragon, and Andalusia. One notable mention is in the "Repartimiento de Sevilla," a document from the 13th century that recorded the distribution of land and properties in the city of Seville after its reconquest from the Moors.

One of the earliest known bearers of the TENIENTE surname was Gonzalo Teniente, a Spanish military commander who lived in the 14th century. He served as a lieutenant under the renowned Castilian king and military leader Alfonso XI and played a crucial role in the conquest of Gibraltar from the Moors in 1333.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, as Spain expanded its colonial empire, the surname TENIENTE likely spread to the Americas and other territories. Juan Teniente, a Spanish conquistador born in 1525, is recorded as one of the early settlers in the region that is now known as Venezuela.

Another notable figure was Catalina Teniente, a 17th-century Spanish painter born in Seville. She was one of the few female artists of her time to achieve recognition and is known for her religious paintings, which adorned various churches and monasteries in Seville.

In the 19th century, Manuel Teniente y García, a Spanish politician and writer born in 1807, made significant contributions to the development of Spanish liberal thought and served as a deputy in the Cortes Generales, the Spanish parliament.

Throughout its history, the surname TENIENTE has been associated with individuals who held positions of authority and leadership, reflecting its roots as a descriptive term for a lieutenant or deputy. While its origins can be traced back to medieval Spain, the name has since spread to various parts of the world, carried by individuals of Spanish descent.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Teniente

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

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

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

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