2000
#21,934
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,103
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.41
Rare Last name
Arriaza
A surname of Spanish origin referring to someone from the town of Arriaza.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,558 Americans carry the last name Arriaza. That puts it at #13,139 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.75 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 133,993 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arriaza 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
2.6K
1 in 133,993
Census rank
#13,139
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,231 bearers of the surname Arriaza in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.75 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13139th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arriaza, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.2%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arriaza
The surname Arriaza originates from Spain, with roots tracing back to the 15th century. It is believed to have derived from the Spanish word "arriaza," which refers to a small stream or creek. This suggests that the name may have originated from a location or geographical feature in Spain where a stream or creek was present.
Arriaza was a relatively common surname in certain regions of Spain during the medieval and early modern periods. It can be found in historical documents and records from that time, although specific references are scarce due to the age and limited documentation from those eras.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arriaza can be found in the baptismal records of the Church of San Sebastián in the town of Manzanares, La Mancha, Spain, dating back to the late 16th century. The record mentions a child named Juan Arriaza, born in 1587, suggesting that the surname was already established in the region by that time.
In the 17th century, there are records of an individual named Pedro Arriaza, a landowner and farmer in the town of Almodóvar del Campo, in the province of Ciudad Real, Spain. He was born in 1621 and is mentioned in local tax records and land ownership documents from the mid-to-late 1600s.
Another notable figure with the surname Arriaza was Rodrigo Arriaza, a Spanish military officer who served in the Spanish Army during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. He was born in 1782 in the city of Granada and participated in several campaigns against the French forces during the Peninsular War.
In the late 19th century, there was a Mexican poet and playwright named Juan Bautista Arriaza, who was born in 1770 in the city of Puebla, Mexico. He is known for his satirical works and plays, which commented on social and political issues of his time.
Additionally, in the 20th century, there was a Peruvian artist and sculptor named Joaquín Arriaza, who was born in 1908 in Lima, Peru. He gained recognition for his modernist sculptures and artworks, which often depicted indigenous themes and cultural elements of Peru.
While the surname Arriaza has its roots in Spain, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly Latin American countries, due to the Spanish colonization and migration patterns over the centuries.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arriaza
Among Census respondents with the surname Arriaza, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.2%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (0.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Arriaza 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 Arriaza surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino95.2% · 2,123
- White3.9% · 86
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 6
- Black or African American0.2% · 5
- Two or more races0.0% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arriaza
Arriaza 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
#19,480
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,387
+284 bearers (+25.7%)
Per 100,000 0.47
Rank movement Up 2,454 places
2020
#13,139
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,231
+844 bearers (+60.9%)
Per 100,000 0.75
Rank movement Up 6,341 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #21,934 | 1,103 | 0.41 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #19,480 | 1,387 | 0.47 | +284 bearers (+25.7%) | Up 2,454 places |
| 2020 | #13,139 | 2,231 | 0.75 | +844 bearers (+60.9%) | Up 6,341 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 Arriaza 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 | #19,480 | #13,139 | 32.6% |
| Count | 1,387 | 2,231 | 60.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.47 | 0.75 | 58.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arriaza bearers went from 1,387 to 2,231 (+60.9% change). The surname moved up 6,341 positions in the national ranking, going from #19,480 to #13,139.
FAQ
Arriaza surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arriaza?
Name Census estimates that about 2,558 living Americans carry the surname Arriaza. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 133,993 residents.
How common is Arriaza?
Arriaza ranks #13,139 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.75 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 2,231 people with the surname Arriaza. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,558), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.75 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.75 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 Arriaza.
Has Arriaza become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arriaza went from 1,387 recorded bearers to 2,231. That is an increase of 844 (+60.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #19,480 to #13,139.
What does the Census say about the background of Arriaza?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arriaza, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 95.2%. The next largest groups are White (3.9%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Arriaza in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.2% (2,123 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arriaza appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (95.2%), White (3.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (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 Arriaza (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 Arriaza mean?
A surname of Spanish origin referring to someone from the town of Arriaza. 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 Arriaza (0.75 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 Arriaza?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.