2000
#8,868
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,395
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.26
Rare Last name
Aguinaga
A Basque toponymic surname indicating a person from the town of Aguinaga in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,543 Americans carry the last name Aguinaga. That puts it at #8,022 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.33 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 75,447 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Aguinaga 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
4.5K
1 in 75,447
Census rank
#8,022
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.3
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 3,962 bearers of the surname Aguinaga in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.33 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 8022nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Aguinaga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Aguinaga
The surname Aguinaga is of Spanish origin, originating in the Basque region of Spain around the 13th century. It is derived from the Basque words "aguin" meaning "point" or "peak" and "aga" meaning "area" or "region," suggesting that the name may have referred to a person who lived near a pointed or peaked area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name appears in a 14th-century document from the town of Urnieta, located in the province of Gipuzkoa, Basque Country. The document mentions an individual named Juan de Aguinaga, indicating the name's presence in the region during that time.
In the 15th century, the name Aguinaga was found in various legal documents and records from the Basque provinces, including mentions of individuals such as Martín Aguinaga, a landowner in the village of Oñati, and Catalina Aguinaga, a resident of the town of Tolosa.
During the 16th century, the name gained prominence in the Basque region, with several notable individuals bearing the surname. One such individual was Juan de Aguinaga, a Basque soldier who fought in the Spanish conquest of Mexico alongside Hernán Cortés. He was born in the town of Azpeitia in 1492 and died in Mexico City in 1548.
Another notable figure with the Aguinaga surname was Domingo de Aguinaga, a Basque priest and scholar who lived in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. He was born in Bilbao in 1560 and is known for his work on Basque grammar and literature.
In the 18th century, the name Aguinaga appeared in various records from the Basque Country, including mentions of individuals such as Juan Bautista Aguinaga, a merchant from San Sebastián, and María Josefa Aguinaga, a landowner in the town of Azkoitia.
One of the most significant individuals with the Aguinaga surname in modern times was José María Aguinaga y Azqueta, a Spanish politician and lawyer who served as the Minister of Justice in Spain during the late 19th century. He was born in Pamplona in 1838 and died in Madrid in 1905.
Throughout its history, the Aguinaga surname has maintained a strong presence in the Basque region of Spain, with many individuals bearing the name contributing to various aspects of Basque culture and society over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Aguinaga
Among Census respondents with the surname Aguinaga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Aguinaga 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 Aguinaga surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino92.8% · 3,678
- White6.3% · 249
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 11
- Black or African American0.3% · 10
- Two or more races0.2% · 9
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.1% · 5
Timeline
Historical Census data for Aguinaga
Aguinaga appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#6,961
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,818
+1,423 bearers (+41.9%)
Per 100,000 1.63
Rank movement Up 1,907 places
2020
#8,022
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,962
-856 bearers (-17.8%)
Per 100,000 1.33
Rank movement Down 1,061 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #8,868 | 3,395 | 1.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #6,961 | 4,818 | 1.63 | +1,423 bearers (+41.9%) | Up 1,907 places |
| 2020 | #8,022 | 3,962 | 1.33 | -856 bearers (-17.8%) | Down 1,061 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 Aguinaga 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 | #6,961 | #8,022 | -15.2% |
| Count | 4,818 | 3,962 | -17.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.63 | 1.33 | -18.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Aguinaga bearers went from 4,818 to 3,962 (-17.8% change). The surname moved down 1,061 positions in the national ranking, going from #6,961 to #8,022.
FAQ
Aguinaga surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Aguinaga?
Name Census estimates that about 4,543 living Americans carry the surname Aguinaga. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 75,447 residents.
How common is Aguinaga?
Aguinaga ranks #8,022 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.33 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 3,962 people with the surname Aguinaga. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,543), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.33 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.33 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Aguinaga.
Has Aguinaga become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Aguinaga went from 4,818 recorded bearers to 3,962. That is a decrease of 856 (-17.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #6,961 to #8,022.
What does the Census say about the background of Aguinaga?
Among Census respondents with the surname Aguinaga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 92.8%. The next largest groups are White (6.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (0.3%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Aguinaga in the 2020 Census, accounting for 92.8% (3,678 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Aguinaga appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (92.8%), White (6.3%), American Indian/Alaska Native (0.3%). 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 Aguinaga (2000, 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 Aguinaga mean?
A Basque toponymic surname indicating a person from the town of Aguinaga in the province of Gipuzkoa, Spain. 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 Aguinaga (1.33 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 Aguinaga?
Find out how many people are called Aguinaga on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.