Aguirre last name popularity, history, and meaning

Find out how popular the last name Aguirre is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Aguirre.

Meaning of Aguirre

From the Basque language, meaning "prominent" or "exposed" and referring to someone who lived on a high spot.

Aguirre, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Aguirre surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Aguirre in America

Aguirre is the 401st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Aguirre surname appeared 79,517 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 27 people would have the surname Aguirre.

We can also compare 2010 data for Aguirre to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

2010 2000 Change (%)
Rank 401 508 -23.54%
Count 79,517 58,918 29.76%
Proportion per 100k 26.96 21.84 20.98%

The history of the last name Aguirre

The surname Aguirre has its origins in the Basque region of Spain and France. It is derived from the Basque words 'agur' meaning 'good' and 'iri' meaning 'town', indicating that the name likely referred to someone from a reputable or prosperous town.

Some of the earliest recorded instances of the surname Aguirre can be found in medieval documents from the Kingdom of Navarre, such as the Fuero de Navarra from the 13th century. The name was also present in the Becerro Galicano, a collection of genealogical records from the 14th century.

In the 16th century, the name Aguirre gained prominence due to Lope de Aguirre, a Spanish conquistador and rebel leader known for his ruthless actions during the Spanish conquest of Peru. He was born in Oñati, Gipuzkoa, around 1510 and died in 1561.

Another notable figure with the surname Aguirre was Joaquín Aguirre y Bilbao, a Mexican lawyer and politician who served as the 47th President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928. He was born in San Andrés Chalchicomula, Puebla, in 1857 and died in 1942.

In the realm of literature, the name Aguirre is associated with Miguel Aguirre y Espinosa, a Spanish poet and playwright from the 17th century. He was born in Seville around 1620 and his works include plays such as "El príncipe de su estrella" and "El galan sin dama".

The surname Aguirre can also be found in various place names, such as Aguirre Canyon in New Mexico, USA, and Aguirre Beach in Puerto Rico, both named after individuals with this last name.

Another notable bearer of the Aguirre surname was José María Aguirre y Zumaran, a Basque politician and writer from the early 20th century. He was born in Bilbao, Bizkaia, in 1873 and played a significant role in the Basque nationalist movement.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Aguirre

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Aguirre.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

  1. White only
  2. Black only
  3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
  4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
  5. Hispanic
  6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Aguirre was:

Race/Ethnicity Percentage Total Occurrences
Non-Hispanic White Only 5.10% 4,055
Non-Hispanic Black Only 0.25% 199
Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only 1.25% 994
Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.20% 159
Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races 0.25% 199
Hispanic Origin 92.94% 73,903

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Aguirre has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

2010 2000 Change (%)
White 5.10% 6.28% -20.74%
Black 0.25% 0.28% -11.32%
Asian and Pacific Islander 1.25% 1.19% 4.92%
American Indian and Alaskan Native 0.20% 0.26% -26.09%
Two or More Races 0.25% 0.46% -59.15%
Hispanic 92.94% 91.52% 1.54%

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Aguirre was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Aguirre, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!

"Aguirre last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com. Accessed on July 27, 2024. http://namecensus.com/last-names/aguirre-surname-popularity/.

"Aguirre last name popularity, history, and meaning". NameCensus.com, http://namecensus.com/last-names/aguirre-surname-popularity/. Accessed 27 July, 2024

Aguirre last name popularity, history, and meaning. NameCensus.com. Retrieved from http://namecensus.com/last-names/aguirre-surname-popularity/.

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