The Contreras surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 130,164 people carried this name — #229 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 2,270 people counted. That is up 40% from 92,660 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Contreras surname
From the town in Burgos, Spain, from Latin contrāriae, feminine plural of contrārius (“lying opposite; opposed”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Contreras» (Spanish), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 64,389 people named Contreras live in Argentina.
RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 527 people named Contreras.
251 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 50 départements, most often Bouches-du-Rhône.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
276 people named Contreras live in Switzerland.
They live in 16 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Zurich.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 27 people named Contreras live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in East Flanders.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In the Nordic population registers
122 people named Contreras is counted in Sweden.
Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.
Counted, by country
Own calculations based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB), surnames with at least two bearers, 31 December 2022 — CC BY 4.0 (names with 20 or more bearers shown).
In print
Contreras in American newspapers,
1847–1961.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 19,043 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Contreras,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Joseph Contreras 1710–1782 · musical instrument maker -
Juan Contreras 1807–1881 · military personnel -
Antonia Contreras 1858–1896 · actor -
Calixto Contreras 1862–1916 · military personnel -
Jesús Fructuoso Contreras 1866–1902 · sculptor
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 249 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Contreras.
- Conte 8,744 · U.S. census
- Content 260 · U.S. census
- Conter 246 · U.S. census
- Conti 10,526 · U.S. census
- Contin 137 · U.S. census
- Contini 582 · U.S. census
- Contri 173 · U.S. census
- Conty 193 · U.S. census
- Convers 116 · U.S. census
- Cook 302,589 · U.S. census
- Cool 4,958 · U.S. census
- Coolen 221 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Contreras is.
A volume says what happened to it.
Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.