2010
#154,907
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 105
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Achaibar
A Basque surname derived from the word "aitz" meaning "rock" or "crag" and "-ibar" meaning "valley."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 131 Americans carry the last name Achaibar. That puts it at #146,495 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,616,445 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Achaibar surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
131
1 in 2,616,445
Census rank
#146,495
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
114
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 114 bearers of the surname Achaibar in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 146495th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Achaibar, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and White (17.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Achaibar
The surname ACHAIBAR is believed to have originated in the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France. It likely dates back to the Middle Ages, possibly as early as the 11th or 12th century. The name is thought to derive from the Basque words "aitxa" meaning "axe" and "ibar" meaning "valley" or "glen." Therefore, ACHAIBAR may have referred to a person living in a valley where axes or woodcutting tools were used or produced.
Some of the earliest recorded instances of the ACHAIBAR surname can be found in medieval Spanish documents and records from the Basque provinces. One example is Juan de Achaibar, a landowner mentioned in a 1387 charter from the town of Bermeo in Biscay. Another early bearer of the name was Pedro Achaibar, a blacksmith from the village of Azpeitia in Gipuzkoa, who was documented in tax records from the late 15th century.
The ACHAIBAR name has also been linked to several notable historical figures over the centuries. One such individual was Miguel de Achaibar y Navarro (1554-1622), a Spanish naval officer and explorer who served under King Philip III and led expeditions to the Philippines and the Mariana Islands in the early 1600s. Another prominent ACHAIBAR was Ignacio de Achaibar (1718-1785), a Basque architect and military engineer who designed several fortifications and public buildings in Spain and its colonies during the 18th century.
In the 19th century, José María Achaibar (1810-1890) was a Spanish politician and lawyer who served as a senator and played a role in the drafting of the Spanish Constitution of 1876. Additionally, Francisco Achaibar y Zubiaga (1832-1907) was a Basque priest and writer who published several works on Basque language and literature in the late 1800s.
While the ACHAIBAR surname is most closely associated with the Basque region, it has also been found in various other parts of Spain, as well as in Latin American countries with Spanish colonial heritage, such as Mexico, Argentina, and Uruguay, likely due to migration and settlement patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Achaibar
Among Census respondents with the surname Achaibar, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and White (17.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Achaibar bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Achaibar surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander47.4% · 54
- Black or African American21.1% · 24
- White17.5% · 20
- Hispanic or Latino7.0% · 8
- Two or more races5.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.8% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Achaibar
Achaibar appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#146,495
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 114
+9 bearers (+8.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 8,412 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #154,907 | 105 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #146,495 | 114 | 0.04 | +9 bearers (+8.6%) | Up 8,412 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Achaibar surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #154,907 | #146,495 | 5.4% |
| Count | 105 | 114 | 8.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -4.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Achaibar bearers went from 105 to 114 (+8.6% change). The surname moved up 8,412 positions in the national ranking, going from #154,907 to #146,495.
FAQ
Achaibar surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Achaibar?
Name Census estimates that about 131 living Americans carry the surname Achaibar. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,616,445 residents.
How common is Achaibar?
Achaibar ranks #146,495 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 114 people with the surname Achaibar. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (131), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Achaibar.
Has Achaibar become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Achaibar went from 105 recorded bearers to 114. That is an increase of 9 (+8.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #154,907 to #146,495.
What does the Census say about the background of Achaibar?
Among Census respondents with the surname Achaibar, the largest self-reported group is Asian/Pacific Islander at 47.4%. The next largest groups are Black (21.1%) and White (17.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest self-reported group for the surname Achaibar in the 2020 Census, accounting for 47.4% (54 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Achaibar appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Asian/Pacific Islander (47.4%), Black (21.1%), White (17.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Achaibar (2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Achaibar mean?
A Basque surname derived from the word "aitz" meaning "rock" or "crag" and "-ibar" meaning "valley." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Achaibar (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Achaibar?
Want to know how many people have the surname Achaibar? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.