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

Aranza, 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 Aranza surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Aranza in America

Aranza is the 101737th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Aranza surname appeared 177 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 Aranza.

We can also compare 2010 data for Aranza 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 Aranza

The surname Aranza is of Spanish origin and can be traced back to the 15th century. It is believed to have originated from the town of Aranzazu, located in the northern Spanish province of Bizkaia. The name Aranzazu itself is derived from the Basque words "arana" meaning valley and "zazu" meaning bramble or thicket, referring to the valley of brambles.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Aranza can be found in the Archivo Historico Provincial de Bizkaia, which contains records dating back to the 16th century. These archives mention individuals with the surname Aranza residing in various towns and villages within the province of Bizkaia.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, several members of the Aranza family were involved in the Spanish colonization efforts in the Americas. Notable figures include Juan de Aranza, a conquistador who participated in the conquest of Mexico under Hernán Cortés in the early 1500s. Another prominent figure was Pedro de Aranza, a Jesuit missionary who worked among the indigenous populations in present-day Colombia during the late 1600s.

In the 18th century, the Aranza surname gained prominence in Spain, particularly in the region of Navarra. One notable individual from this period was Miguel Aranza y Araoz (1703-1782), a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Panama from 1759 to 1766.

The 19th century saw the Aranza surname spread beyond Spain to other parts of the world. One notable figure from this era was Evaristo Aranza (1820-1897), a Mexican politician and military leader who served as the governor of the state of Jalisco from 1869 to 1871.

In more recent times, the Aranza surname has been carried by several notable individuals, including Jesús Aranza (1936-2017), a Spanish actor and filmmaker known for his work in the Spanish cinema of the 1960s and 1970s, and Alejandro Aranza (born 1983), a Mexican professional golfer who has competed on the PGA Tour.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Aranza

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

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

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

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