The Meneses surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 8,548 people carried this name — #4,143 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 34,500 people counted. That is up 50% from 5,695 in 2000.

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Where the name comes from

The origin of the Meneses surname

Borrowed from Spanish Meneses. This surname is predominantly found in Colombia and Mexico.

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Meneses» (English), 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 4,860 people named Meneses 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 map

Where they live today

Buenos Aires Province 2,074
City of Buenos Aires 584
Salta 349
Mendoza 293
Córdoba 274
Corrientes 248
Tucumán 97
Río Negro 93

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In Switzerland’s population statistics

165 people named Meneses live in Switzerland.

They live in 12 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Vaud.

Where it concentrates, on the map

Where they live today

Vaud 47
Geneva 31
Neuchâtel 19
Valais 13
Fribourg 13
Bern 10
Zurich 9
St. Gallen 8

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 France’s civil register

France’s register of deaths holds 22 people named Meneses.

Most of them — 14 — were born outside France. Those born in France came from 6 départements, most often Calvados.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they were born

Born outside France 14
Calvados 2
Hautes-Pyrénées 2
Aude 1
Isère 1
Paris 1
Seine-Maritime 1

Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.

In the Nordic population registers

25 people named Meneses is counted in Sweden.

Sweden’s figure is from 31 December 2022, the last count Statistics Sweden published.

Counted, by country

Sweden (2022) 25

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

Meneses in American newspapers,
1850–1896.

Newspaper page from Gazeta De Puerto-Rico carrying the name Meneses
Gazeta De Puerto-Rico 1850-04-02
Newspaper page from La CróNica carrying the name Meneses
La CróNica 1885-01-10
Newspaper page from El Fronterizo carrying the name Meneses
El Fronterizo 1896-10-03

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Meneses in Australian newspapers,
1930s–1950s.

37 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Meneses. The most, 19, date from the 1930s.

Articles, by state

ACT (Canberra) 3
New South Wales 3
Queensland 2
South Australia 1
Western Australia 1

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Meneses.

Who carried it

People named Meneses,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Duarte de Menezes, 3rd Count of Viana
    Duarte de Menezes, 3rd Count of Viana 1414–1464 · politician
  • Diogo de Meneses
    Diogo de Meneses 1520–1580 · civil servant
  • Duarte de Meneses
    Duarte de Meneses 1537–1588 · military personnel
  • António Luís de Meneses, 1st Marquis of Marialva
    António Luís de Meneses, 1st Marquis of Marialva 1596–1675 · military personnel
  • Francisco Barreto de Meneses
    Francisco Barreto de Meneses 1616–1688 · soldier

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 118 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Meneses,
in the records of 2 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States151 records

151 records of the Meneses name in the United States
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 109
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 20
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 16
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 5
  • U.S. service members who died in the Korean War 1
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record George Meneses

    Born 1928; from Bexar County, Texas. U.S. Army, light weapons infantryman; killed in action 1950 in South Korea. Buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, Texas.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Theodore U. Meneses

    Born 1924 in Hawaiian Islands. Enlisted 1945, from Hawaiian Islands. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1952, buried at National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Hawaii.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A U.S. Army record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864
    Example: U.S. burial record, 1864
    Burial record Higino L. Meneses

    U.S. Navy veteran of World War II. Born 1908, died 1993; buried at Hawaii State Veterans Cemetery, Kaneohe, Hawaii.

    U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)

Showing 3 of 151 records for Meneses in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Record of death and interment, Camp Nelson, Kentucky, 1864, U.S. National Archives (public domain).

France5 records

5 records of the Meneses name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Visitation Meneses

    Born 1911 in Spain; died 1999 in Lagardelle-sur-Lèze (Haute-Garonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Julien Joaquim Meneses

    Born 1908 in Spain; died 1996 in Beaupuy (Haute-Garonne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Rogelio Meneses

    Born 1929 in Chile; died 2001 in Paris.

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 5 records for Meneses in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Meneses.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Meneses 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.

See the Meneses volume
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