There are surnames in Mallorca that have a particularly strong Mallorcan and Balearic identity; Barceló, for instance, or Nadal. But the latest survey of names by Spain's National Institute of Statistics (INE) indicates that the most popular surname appears to be very 'Spanish'. Appears to be, but history suggests otherwise.
At number one on the list with a total of 21,774 people in the Balearics is García. It has consistently headed INE surveys, but is this number-one status solely a reflection of immigration over recent decades? Up to a point it will be, but to understand surnames in the Balearics one has to look back over the centuries and especially to the movement of those from noble stock to the islands and to those who were less noble but formed part of a repopulation.
While some surnames can be traced to the Muslim era from the start of the tenth century, those that have a strong Balearic identity are related to the conquest of 1229 and following years. An encyclopaedia of the Mallorcan nobility that was compiled by Joaquín Bover (himself from a noble lineage) in 1850 refers to a Sancho García and family from the time of the conquest. Over the subsequent centuries, various Garcías held privileged offices.
It's a similar story with Fernández (sixth on the list with 13,141 people). But not so with Martínez (second, 14,949) or with López in third, Rodriguez fourth and Sánchez fifth. Pons in tenth (8,390) is the most obviously Balearic name. A Berenguer Pons and a Guillem Pons were around at the time of the conquest.
Ferrer, Serra, Coll; these are others like Pons which rank highly. As for Barceló, it is 26th (3,899). Nadal doesn't even make the top fifty.
As for Christian names, there are 19,250 males named Antonio, the most popular name. A further 2,867 are Antoni, the Catalan version of the name. Maria, 18,854, continues to head the female list. A clear example of the generational shift comes with Mohammed, 33rd in the male list (3,059).