2010
#150,452
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Arretche
A Basque surname likely derived from the Spanish term "arreche" meaning rough or harsh.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 118 Americans carry the last name Arretche. That puts it at #154,182 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,904,698 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arretche 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
118
1 in 2,904,698
Census rank
#154,182
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
103
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 103 bearers of the surname Arretche in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 154182nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arretche, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 52.4%. The next largest groups are White (40.8%) and Black (2.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arretche
The surname ARRETCHE is of Spanish origin, tracing its roots back to the Basque region of northern Spain and southwestern France during the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Basque word "aretxe," which translates to "oak tree" or "grove of oak trees," suggesting that the name may have initially been a descriptive term for someone who lived near or worked with oak trees.
In the early 14th century, variants of the name, such as Arreche and Arretxe, began appearing in historical records across the Basque territories. One of the earliest documented instances is found in the Cartulario de San Millán de la Cogolla, a collection of medieval manuscripts from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain, where a certain Juan Arreche is mentioned in a land transaction dated 1312.
By the 15th century, the ARRETCHE surname had spread beyond the Basque region, with records indicating families bearing this name in various parts of Spain, including Catalonia and Aragon. In 1428, a certain Pedro Arretche was listed among the citizens of Barcelona in the city's census records.
One of the earliest known individuals with the ARRETCHE surname was Juan de Arretche, a 16th-century Spanish explorer and navigator who accompanied Hernán Cortés on his expeditions to the Americas. Juan de Arretche is believed to have been born in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa around 1490 and participated in the conquest of Mexico in the 1520s.
In the 17th century, the ARRETCHE name gained prominence in the Spanish colonies of the Americas, particularly in present-day Mexico and Peru. Notable figures from this period include Miguel Arretche, a Spanish soldier and landowner in New Spain (born circa 1620), and Juana Arretche, a prominent philanthropist and benefactor of the Convent of Santa Clara in Lima, Peru (1640-1712).
Another significant figure in the history of the ARRETCHE surname is Pedro Arretche y Gutiérrez, a Spanish military officer and colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Panama from 1747 to 1753. He played a crucial role in defending the isthmus against pirate attacks and strengthening the region's defenses.
Throughout the centuries, the ARRETCHE name has also been associated with various professions, including academia, arts, and politics. In the 19th century, José Arretche (1802-1878) was a renowned Spanish painter and lithographer known for his portraits and landscapes. More recently, Jesús Arretche (1930-2019) was a Venezuelan politician and diplomat who served as the country's Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1979 to 1983.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arretche
Among Census respondents with the surname Arretche, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 52.4%. The next largest groups are White (40.8%) and Black (2.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Arretche 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 Arretche surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino52.4% · 54
- White40.8% · 42
- Black or African American2.9% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 2
- Two or more races1.9% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arretche
Arretche appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#154,182
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 103
-6 bearers (-5.5%)
Per 100,000 0.03
Rank movement Down 3,730 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #150,452 | 109 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #154,182 | 103 | 0.03 | -6 bearers (-5.5%) | Down 3,730 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 Arretche 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 | #150,452 | #154,182 | -2.5% |
| Count | 109 | 103 | -5.5% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.03 | -13.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arretche bearers went from 109 to 103 (-5.5% change). The surname moved down 3,730 positions in the national ranking, going from #150,452 to #154,182.
FAQ
Arretche surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arretche?
Name Census estimates that about 118 living Americans carry the surname Arretche. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,904,698 residents.
How common is Arretche?
Arretche ranks #154,182 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.03 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 103 people with the surname Arretche. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (118), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.03 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.03 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Arretche.
Has Arretche become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arretche went from 109 recorded bearers to 103. That is a decrease of 6 (-5.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #150,452 to #154,182.
What does the Census say about the background of Arretche?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arretche, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 52.4%. The next largest groups are White (40.8%) and Black (2.9%). 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 Arretche in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.4% (54 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arretche appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (52.4%), White (40.8%), Black (2.9%). 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 Arretche (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 Arretche mean?
A Basque surname likely derived from the Spanish term "arreche" meaning rough or harsh. 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 Arretche (0.03 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 Americans have the surname Arretche?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.