2000
#10,059
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,956
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.10
Rare Last name
Amezquita
A Basque surname referring to a person who lived near a church or chapel.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 4,858 Americans carry the last name Amezquita. That puts it at #7,559 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.42 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 70,555 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Amezquita 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
4.9K
1 in 70,555
Census rank
#7,559
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
4.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 4,236 bearers of the surname Amezquita in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.42 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 7559th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Amezquita, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Black (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amezquita
Among Census respondents with the surname Amezquita, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Black (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Amezquita 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 Amezquita surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino96.2% · 4,074
- White2.9% · 122
- Black or African American0.4% · 15
- Two or more races0.3% · 12
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Amezquita
Amezquita 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
#7,337
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,544
+1,588 bearers (+53.7%)
Per 100,000 1.54
Rank movement Up 2,722 places
2020
#7,559
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,236
-308 bearers (-6.8%)
Per 100,000 1.42
Rank movement Down 222 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #10,059 | 2,956 | 1.10 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,337 | 4,544 | 1.54 | +1,588 bearers (+53.7%) | Up 2,722 places |
| 2020 | #7,559 | 4,236 | 1.42 | -308 bearers (-6.8%) | Down 222 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 Amezquita 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 | #7,337 | #7,559 | -3.0% |
| Count | 4,544 | 4,236 | -6.8% |
| Per 100K | 1.54 | 1.42 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Amezquita bearers went from 4,544 to 4,236 (-6.8% change). The surname moved down 222 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,337 to #7,559.
FAQ
Amezquita surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Amezquita?
Name Census estimates that about 4,858 living Americans carry the surname Amezquita. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 70,555 residents.
How common is Amezquita?
Amezquita ranks #7,559 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.42 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 4,236 people with the surname Amezquita. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (4,858), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.42 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.42 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 Amezquita.
Has Amezquita become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Amezquita went from 4,544 recorded bearers to 4,236. That is a decrease of 308 (-6.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #7,337 to #7,559.
What does the Census say about the background of Amezquita?
Among Census respondents with the surname Amezquita, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 96.2%. The next largest groups are White (2.9%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Amezquita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 96.2% (4,074 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Amezquita appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (96.2%), White (2.9%), Black (0.4%). 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 Amezquita (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 Amezquita mean?
A Basque surname referring to a person who lived near a church or chapel. 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 Amezquita (1.42 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 many people are called Amezquita?
Find out how many people have the last name Amezquita on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.