The Peralta surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 36,585 people carried this name — #949 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 8,060 people counted. That is up 48% from 24,713 in 2000.
What the name means
The meaning of the Peralta surname
From place names in Spain, inherited from Latin petra alta (literally “high rock”).
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Peralta» (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 119,880 people named Peralta 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 315 people named Peralta.
139 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 35 départements, most often Hauts-de-Seine.
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
209 people named Peralta 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 40 people named Peralta 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 Hainaut.
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
37 people named Peralta 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
Peralta in American newspapers,
1900–1919.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 19,253 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Peralta,
with a public archive behind them.
-
José de Peralta Barnuevo 1669–1746 · Catholic priest -
José María Peralta 1807–1883 · politician -
Francisco Peralta del Campo 1837–1897 · painter -
José Peralta 1855–1937 · writer -
Frances Peralta 1883–1933 · opera singer
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 251 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Peralta.
- Peplinski 1,570 · U.S. census
- Pequignot 549 · U.S. census
- Pera 2,631 · U.S. census
- Peral 565 · U.S. census
- Peraldo 127 · U.S. census
- Perales 14,593 · U.S. census
- Perasso 129 · U.S. census
- Perault 299 · U.S. census
- Percy 4,226 · U.S. census
- Perdigon 188 · U.S. census
- Perdon 142 · U.S. census
- Pere 616 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Peralta 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.