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

Amézaga, 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 Amézaga surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Amézaga in America

Amézaga is the 83541st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Amézaga surname appeared 225 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 Amézaga.

We can also compare 2010 data for Amézaga 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.

The history of the last name Amézaga

The surname Amezaga originates from the Basque region of Spain and France, dating back to the early medieval period. It is derived from the Basque words 'ametza', meaning 'hawthorn', and 'aga', meaning 'place' or 'area'. Together, the name translates to 'the place of hawthorns', suggesting that the earliest bearers of this surname lived in an area abundant with hawthorn trees.

Amezaga is a variant spelling of the more common Basque surname Amezaga, with the 'z' being a common substitution for the 'tz' sound in the Basque language. The name is also similar to the Basque place name Ametzaga, which is a village in the province of Gipuzkoa, located in the Basque Autonomous Community of Spain.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the Amezaga surname can be found in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript associated with the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Galicia, Spain. This document, which served as a guide for pilgrims traveling to the shrine of St. James, mentions an individual named Petrus Amezaga, who may have been a local from the Basque region.

In the 16th century, historical records show that a family bearing the Amezaga surname held land and properties in the town of Tolosa, in the Gipuzkoa province of the Basque Country. Juan de Amezaga (1520-1589), a prominent member of this family, served as a magistrate and held influential positions in the local government.

Another notable figure with the Amezaga surname was Martín de Amezaga (1564-1638), a Basque soldier and explorer who accompanied the Spanish conquistador Pedro de Valdivia in the conquest of Chile. Amezaga played a crucial role in the establishment of several settlements in the region, including the city of Santiago.

During the 18th century, a branch of the Amezaga family migrated to the Americas, settling in various parts of Mexico and South America. One prominent individual from this era was José Antonio Amezaga (1738-1805), a Spanish colonial administrator who served as the governor of the province of Río de la Plata (present-day Argentina and Uruguay) between 1797 and 1804.

In the 19th century, a notable figure with the Amezaga surname was Pedro Amezaga y Zavala (1835-1908), a Basque politician and writer. He served as a member of the Spanish parliament and was a vocal advocate for the recognition of Basque cultural and linguistic rights.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Amézaga

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

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 Amézaga was:

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 Amézaga has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

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 Amézaga was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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