2000
#2,511
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 13,185
First available Census row
Per 100,000 4.89
Uncommon Last name
Arteaga
A Basque toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "the hill of the oaks" or "among oaks."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 21,773 Americans carry the last name Arteaga. That puts it at #1,858 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.35 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 15,742 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Arteaga 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
22K
1 in 15,742
Census rank
#1,858
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
19K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,987 bearers of the surname Arteaga in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.35 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1858th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Arteaga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Black (0.3%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Arteaga
The surname Arteaga originated in the Basque region of northern Spain and southern France. It is a habitational name referring to someone who came from the town of Arteaga in the province of Biscay, Spain. The name derives from the Basque words "arte" meaning oak tree and "aga" meaning place, indicating a place where oak trees grew.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Arteaga appears in the Cartulario de San Millán, a 10th-century manuscript from the Monastery of San Millán de la Cogolla in La Rioja, Spain. In this document, a person named Juan Arteaga is mentioned as a landowner in the year 953.
The Arteaga surname is also found in the Becerro de las Behetrías de Castilla, a 14th-century census-like document that recorded the names of landowners and their properties in the regions of Castile and León. This suggests that the Arteaga family had established themselves as landowners and prominent figures in these areas by that time.
One notable bearer of the Arteaga name was Juan Arteaga y Avendaño (1530-1598), a Spanish explorer and navigator who led expeditions to the Pacific Northwest coast of North America in the late 16th century.
Another prominent individual was Miguel de Arteaga y Galindo (1691-1761), a Spanish colonial administrator who served as the Governor of Texas from 1737 to 1738.
In the 19th century, José Joaquín de Arteaga (1828-1865) was a Mexican military leader who fought in the Reform War and the French Intervention in Mexico.
The surname Arteaga is also associated with the town of Arteaga in the state of Coahuila, Mexico, which was likely named after an early settler or landowner with that surname.
Martín Arteaga (1899-1965) was a Mexican artist and painter known for his murals and works depicting scenes from Mexican history and culture.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Arteaga
Among Census respondents with the surname Arteaga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Black (0.3%).
The bar chart below shows how Arteaga 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 Arteaga surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino94.9% · 18,015
- White4.2% · 802
- Black or African American0.3% · 64
- Two or more races0.2% · 44
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 34
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 28
Timeline
Historical Census data for Arteaga
Arteaga 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
#1,848
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 19,410
+6,225 bearers (+47.2%)
Per 100,000 6.58
Rank movement Up 663 places
2020
#1,858
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,987
-423 bearers (-2.2%)
Per 100,000 6.35
Rank movement Down 10 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,511 | 13,185 | 4.89 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,848 | 19,410 | 6.58 | +6,225 bearers (+47.2%) | Up 663 places |
| 2020 | #1,858 | 18,987 | 6.35 | -423 bearers (-2.2%) | Down 10 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 Arteaga 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 | #1,848 | #1,858 | -0.5% |
| Count | 19,410 | 18,987 | -2.2% |
| Per 100K | 6.58 | 6.35 | -3.5% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Arteaga bearers went from 19,410 to 18,987 (-2.2% change). The surname moved down 10 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,848 to #1,858.
FAQ
Arteaga surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Arteaga?
Name Census estimates that about 21,773 living Americans carry the surname Arteaga. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 15,742 residents.
How common is Arteaga?
Arteaga ranks #1,858 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.35 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,987 people with the surname Arteaga. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (21,773), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.35 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.35 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Arteaga.
Has Arteaga become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Arteaga went from 19,410 recorded bearers to 18,987. That is a decrease of 423 (-2.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,848 to #1,858.
What does the Census say about the background of Arteaga?
Among Census respondents with the surname Arteaga, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 94.9%. The next largest groups are White (4.2%) and Black (0.3%). 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 Arteaga in the 2020 Census, accounting for 94.9% (18,015 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Arteaga appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (94.9%), White (4.2%), Black (0.3%). 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 Arteaga (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 Arteaga mean?
A Basque toponymic surname derived from a place name meaning "the hill of the oaks" or "among oaks." 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 Arteaga (6.35 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 Arteaga?
If you just want to know how many people are called Arteaga, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.