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

Zepeda, 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 Zepeda surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Zepeda in America

Zepeda is the 1209th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Zepeda surname appeared 29,252 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 10 people would have the surname Zepeda.

We can also compare 2010 data for Zepeda 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 Zepeda

The surname Zepeda is of Spanish origin, with its roots traceable to the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. The name is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "cepeda," which means "clump of grass" or "tuft of grass." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked with grassy areas or meadows.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Zepeda surname can be found in the Repartimiento de Sevilla, a census document from the 13th century that documented the distribution of land and properties in the city of Seville after its conquest by the Christian forces. This document mentions individuals with the surname Cepeda, which later evolved into Zepeda.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, the Zepeda name gained prominence in various regions of Spain, particularly in Andalusia and Extremadura. Some notable individuals bearing this surname include Pedro de Zepeda, a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés in the early 16th century.

As the Spanish Empire expanded across the Atlantic, the Zepeda surname spread to the Americas, particularly to regions that were part of the Spanish colonial territories, such as Mexico and parts of Central and South America. One of the earliest recorded instances of the Zepeda surname in the New World can be found in the records of the Inquisition in Mexico City from the late 16th century.

Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the Zepeda surname. These include:

1. Cristóbal de Zepeda (1550-1618), a Spanish nobleman and military commander who served in the Spanish Netherlands during the Eighty Years' War.
2. Juan de Zepeda (1568-1637), a Spanish painter and sculptor active in Seville during the Baroque period.
3. María de Zepeda (1628-1702), a Spanish nun and mystic who founded the Convent of the Immaculate Conception in Seville.
4. José Zepeda (1766-1841), a Mexican lawyer and politician who served as a deputy in the Mexican Congress during the early years of the country's independence.
5. Jesús Zepeda (1892-1980), a Mexican artist and painter known for his murals and landscapes depicting the rural life of Mexico.

While the Zepeda surname has its origins in Spain, it has since become widespread across various Spanish-speaking countries, particularly in Mexico and parts of Central and South America, where it continues to be a prominent surname to this day.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Zepeda

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

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

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

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