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

Arana, 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 Arana surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Arana in America

Arana is the 3347th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Arana surname appeared 10,698 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 4 people would have the surname Arana.

We can also compare 2010 data for Arana 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 Arana

The surname ARANA has its origins in the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France, where it is believed to have emerged in the early medieval period. The name is derived from the Basque word "arana," meaning "spider." This connection suggests that the name may have initially been a descriptive nickname or occupational name for someone who worked with spiders or was associated with them in some way.

In the Basque language, surnames often originated from nicknames or references to personal characteristics, occupations, or locations. The ARANA surname likely followed this tradition, with the spider reference perhaps alluding to a person's agility, patience, or web-making skills.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the ARANA surname appears in the Codex Calixtinus, a 12th-century manuscript that includes the first known written record of the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage route. This document mentions an individual named Domingo de ARANA, suggesting the surname's presence in the region during that time.

In the 15th century, the ARANA surname is found in various legal and administrative records from the Basque provinces of Álava, Gipuzkoa, and Bizkaia. For example, a document from 1482 refers to a Juan de ARANA, a landowner in the town of Elgóibar.

Notable individuals with the ARANA surname include Fermín de ARANA y Goiri (1789-1855), a Spanish writer and journalist who was a prominent figure in the Basque cultural renaissance of the 19th century. Another prominent bearer of the name was Juan de ARANA y Valmiseda (1723-1790), a Spanish naval officer and explorer who led several expeditions to the Pacific Northwest coast of North America in the late 18th century.

In the 19th century, the ARANA surname gained further recognition with Luis de ARANA y Goiri (1857-1951), a Basque nationalist and writer who founded the Basque Nationalist Party (Partido Nacionalista Vasco) in 1895. His brother, Sabino de ARANA y Goiri (1865-1903), was also a prominent Basque nationalist and author who wrote extensively on Basque identity and independence.

Other notable figures include Jesús María de ARANA y Salces (1866-1938), a Spanish military officer and diplomat who served as Spain's ambassador to the United States in the early 20th century, and Antonio de ARANA y Caxes (1586-1666), a Spanish painter and architect known for his work in the Baroque style.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Arana

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

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

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

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