Find out how popular the last name Alaia is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Alaia.
Basque occupational surname derived from "ahalai," meaning a person who herds or pastures livestock, particularly cattle or sheep.
Alaia, 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 Alaia surname is from the 2010 census data.
Alaia is the 153769th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The Alaia surname appeared 106 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Alaia.
The surname Alaia is of Spanish origin, derived from the place name "Alaia" in the Basque region of northern Spain. The name likely emerged during the medieval period, around the 11th or 12th century.
The name Alaia is believed to come from the Basque words "ala" meaning "valley" and "ia" meaning "place" or "location." This suggests that the name originally referred to someone who lived or worked in a particular valley or region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Alaia can be found in the Becerro Galicano, a historical document from the 13th century that compiled information on noble families and landholdings in the Basque region.
In the 14th century, a nobleman named Lope Alaia was documented as owning lands in the town of Guipúzcoa, Basque Country. His son, Juan Alaia, served as a soldier in the wars against the Kingdom of Navarre during the late 1300s.
During the Renaissance period, a famous sculptor and architect named Juan de Alaia (1480-1545) worked on several prominent buildings in the city of Vitoria, including the Palacio de Bendaña and the Church of San Miguel.
In the 17th century, a prominent member of the Alaia family was Martín de Alaia (1610-1673), a Basque merchant who established trade routes between Spain and the Americas, contributing to the economic growth of the region.
Another notable figure with the surname Alaia was María Alaia (1825-1897), a Basque writer and poet who published several collections of poetry and prose works that celebrated the Basque language and culture.
Throughout history, variations of the name Alaia have included Allaia, Alaya, and Alaiza, reflecting the regional dialects and spelling conventions of different areas within the Basque Country and northern Spain.
We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Alaia.
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:
For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Alaia was:
| Race/Ethnicity | Percentage | Total Occurrences |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Hispanic White Only | 91.51% | 97 |
| Non-Hispanic Black Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic Asian and Pacific Islander Only | (S)% | (S) |
| Non-Hispanic American Indian and Alaskan Native | 0.00% | 0 |
| Non-Hispanic of Two or More Races | (S)% | (S) |
| Hispanic Origin | (S)% | (S) |
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.
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 Alaia was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.
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