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

Viesca, 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 Viesca surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Viesca in America

Viesca is the 41501st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Viesca surname appeared 524 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 Viesca.

We can also compare 2010 data for Viesca 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 Viesca

The surname Viesca is of Spanish origin, dating back to the early medieval period in the region of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is derived from the Spanish word "viesca," which means "sliver of wood" or "small wooden splinter." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to an occupation or trade involving woodworking or forestry.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Viesca can be found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a collection of medieval documents from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain. In this cartulary, a certain Domingo Viesca is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction in the year 1191.

The name Viesca also appears in other historical records from the Kingdom of Castile, such as the Becerro de las Behetrías, a census of landowners and their holdings compiled in the 14th century during the reign of King Pedro I of Castile (1334-1369). This document lists several individuals with the surname Viesca, suggesting that the name was well-established in various parts of Castile by that time.

One notable individual with the surname Viesca was Diego de Viesca, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century. De Viesca was born in Seville, Spain, around 1480 and died in Mexico City in 1551.

Another individual of note was Tomás de Viesca, a Spanish nobleman and military officer who served as the Governor of Nuevo León, a province in northern Mexico, from 1674 to 1679. He was born in Badajoz, Spain, in the early 17th century and played a significant role in the colonization and defense of the region.

In the 18th century, José María Viesca y Montes de Oca (1773-1845) was a prominent Mexican political figure and military leader who served as the Governor of Coahuila y Tejas, a state in northern Mexico, from 1835 to 1836. He was a supporter of Mexican independence and played a role in the Texas Revolution.

The surname Viesca can also be found in various place names throughout Spain and Latin America, such as Viesca, a municipality in the province of Soria, Spain, and Viesca, a town in the Mexican state of Coahuila. These place names likely originated from individuals with the surname Viesca who settled or held land in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Viesca

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!