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

Velázquez, 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 Velázquez surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Velázquez in America

Velázquez is the 160975th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Velázquez surname appeared 100 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 Velázquez.

The history of the last name Velázquez

The surname Valezquez originates from Spain and dates back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "valle," meaning valley, and the patronymic suffix "-ez," indicating "son of." Therefore, Valezquez likely referred to someone who lived in or came from a particular valley.

The earliest recorded instances of the name Valezquez can be found in various historical documents from the 13th and 14th centuries. One notable example is the Repartimiento de Sevilla, a record of land grants made after the Reconquista of Seville in 1248, which mentions several individuals with the surname Valezquez.

During the 15th century, the Valezquez family played a significant role in the exploration and colonization of the Americas. Juan Valezquez de Cuéllar, born around 1450, was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the New World in 1493. He later became the first European settler on the island of La Española (modern-day Haiti and Dominican Republic).

Another prominent figure with the surname Valezquez was Diego Valezquez de Cuéllar, born around 1465. He was a Spanish conquistador and the first Spanish governor of Cuba. Valezquez de Cuéllar was responsible for organizing the expedition that led to the conquest of Mexico by Hernán Cortés, although their relationship later became strained due to conflicts of interest.

In the 16th century, the Valezquez family continued to make contributions to the arts and literature. Juan de Valezquez, born in 1530, was a Spanish painter known for his portraits of the Spanish royal family and nobility. He served as the court painter to King Philip II of Spain and is considered one of the most important portrait artists of the Spanish Renaissance.

Another notable figure was Juan de Valezquez, born in 1572, a Spanish playwright and poet who was a member of the Spanish Golden Age literary movement. His works, including plays and poetry, were highly influential during his time and helped shape the development of Spanish literature.

Throughout the centuries, the surname Valezquez has been associated with various place names and localities in Spain. Some examples include Valezquez de la Sierra in the province of Badajoz, Valezquez de Lacara in the province of Badajoz, and Valezquez de Badajoz in the province of Badajoz. These place names likely originated from the presence of Valezquez families in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Velázquez

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

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 Velázquez 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.

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

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

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