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

Amezquita, 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 Amezquita surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Amezquita in America

Amezquita is the 7337th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Amezquita surname appeared 4,544 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Amezquita.

We can also compare 2010 data for Amezquita 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 Amezquita

The surname Amezquita is of Spanish origin, derived from the word "mezquita," which means "mosque" in Spanish. This name is believed to have originated in the Moorish era of Spain, when parts of the country were under Islamic rule from the 8th to the 15th centuries.

The name likely referred to either someone who lived near a mosque or someone who was associated with a mosque in some capacity. It's possible that the earliest bearers of this name were converts to Islam or individuals who worked or worshipped at mosques during the Moorish occupation of Spain.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Amezquita can be found in the "Libro de Repartimiento" (Book of Apportionment), a document from the 13th century that recorded the distribution of lands and properties in the newly conquered territories of Seville and Jerez de la Frontera.

In the 16th century, there are records of an Amezquita family in the city of Córdoba, which was a prominent center of Moorish culture and architecture during the Islamic rule in Spain. The Mezquita-Catedral de Córdoba, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was originally a mosque built in the 8th century and later converted into a Catholic cathedral after the Reconquista.

One notable individual with the surname Amezquita was Pedro de Amezquita, a 16th-century Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru alongside Francisco Pizarro. He was born around 1490 and is mentioned in various historical accounts of the expeditions to the Inca Empire.

Another prominent figure was Antonio de Amezquita, a 17th-century Spanish theologian and philosopher. He was born in Seville in 1601 and authored several works on metaphysics and theology, including "Philosophia Libera" (Free Philosophy) and "Theologia Scholastica" (Scholastic Theology).

In the 18th century, Juan de Amezquita y Benegas was a Spanish naval officer and cartographer. He was born in Cartagena in 1718 and is known for his contributions to mapping and charting the coasts of Spain and its territories.

Moving to the 19th century, Manuel Amezquita was a Mexican politician and military leader who played a significant role in the Mexican War of Independence. He was born in Jalisco in 1792 and served as a general in the insurgent forces against Spanish colonial rule.

Throughout its history, the surname Amezquita has been associated with various notable individuals, reflecting its Spanish and Moorish origins. While the name may have evolved in spelling and pronunciation over time, its roots can be traced back to the rich cultural heritage of Spain's Islamic past.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Amezquita

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

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

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Amezquita, 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!