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

Zavaleta, 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 Zavaleta surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zavaleta in America

Zavaleta is the 10555th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zavaleta surname appeared 3,036 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 Zavaleta.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zavaleta 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 Zavaleta

The surname Zavaleta originated in Spain during the medieval period. It is believed to derive from the Basque words "zabal" meaning wide or spacious, and "eta" meaning house or homestead. This suggests the name may have initially referred to someone who lived in a large or spacious dwelling.

Early records show the name was particularly prevalent in the northern Spanish regions of Navarre and the Basque Country. Some of the earliest documented examples date back to the 13th century, when it appeared in municipal charters and property deeds.

One of the first known bearers of the Zavaleta name was Juan de Zavaleta, a nobleman from Navarre who lived in the late 14th century. He is mentioned in historical texts as a prominent landowner and military commander during the reign of King Charles III of Navarre.

In the 16th century, the Zavaleta family gained prominence in the city of San Sebastián, located in the Basque region of Gipuzkoa. Notable members included Pedro de Zavaleta, a merchant and ship-owner who was active in the lucrative trade between Spain and the Americas.

As the Spanish Empire expanded, the Zavaleta name spread to various colonies in the New World. One of the earliest recorded instances was Juan de Zavaleta, a conquistador who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to Mexico in the early 1500s.

In later centuries, other prominent individuals bearing the Zavaleta surname included Miguel de Zavaleta, a scholar and professor at the University of Salamanca in the 17th century, and José María Zavaleta, a military officer and politician who played a role in the Mexican War of Independence in the early 1800s.

While the name has its roots in Spain's Basque region, it eventually spread to other parts of the Iberian Peninsula and beyond, carried by settlers, explorers, and emigrants to the Americas and other Spanish territories across the globe.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zavaleta

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

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

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

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