2000
#4,660
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 6,957
First available Census row
Per 100,000 2.58
Uncommon Last name
Arana
A Basque surname meaning "spider," likely referring to someone who was agile or cunning.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 10,723 Americans carry the last name Arana. That puts it at #3,691 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 3.13 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 31,964 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arana 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
11K
1 in 31,964
Census rank
#3,691
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
3.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
9.4K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 9,351 bearers of the surname Arana in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 3.13 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 3691st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arana, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.5%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arana
Among Census respondents with the surname Arana, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.5%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Arana 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 Arana surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino89.5% · 8,367
- White6.1% · 568
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.4% · 224
- Black or African American1.4% · 132
- Two or more races0.5% · 49
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 11
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arana
Arana 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
#3,347
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 10,698
+3,741 bearers (+53.8%)
Per 100,000 3.63
Rank movement Up 1,313 places
2020
#3,691
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 9,351
-1,347 bearers (-12.6%)
Per 100,000 3.13
Rank movement Down 344 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #4,660 | 6,957 | 2.58 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #3,347 | 10,698 | 3.63 | +3,741 bearers (+53.8%) | Up 1,313 places |
| 2020 | #3,691 | 9,351 | 3.13 | -1,347 bearers (-12.6%) | Down 344 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 Arana 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 | #3,347 | #3,691 | -10.3% |
| Count | 10,698 | 9,351 | -12.6% |
| Per 100K | 3.63 | 3.13 | -13.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arana bearers went from 10,698 to 9,351 (-12.6% change). The surname moved down 344 positions in the national ranking, going from #3,347 to #3,691.
FAQ
Arana surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arana?
Name Census estimates that about 10,723 living Americans carry the surname Arana. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 31,964 residents.
How common is Arana?
Arana ranks #3,691 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 3.13 per 100,000 residents, which is about 3 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 9,351 people with the surname Arana. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (10,723), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 3.13 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 3.13 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 3 of them to have the surname Arana.
Has Arana become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arana went from 10,698 recorded bearers to 9,351. That is a decrease of 1,347 (-12.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #3,347 to #3,691.
What does the Census say about the background of Arana?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arana, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 89.5%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%). 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 Arana in the 2020 Census, accounting for 89.5% (8,367 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arana appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (89.5%), White (6.1%), Asian/Pacific Islander (2.4%). 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 Arana (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 Arana mean?
A Basque surname meaning "spider," likely referring to someone who was agile or cunning. 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 Arana (3.13 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 have the last name Arana?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Arana at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.