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

Ayestas, 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 Ayestas surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Ayestas in America

Ayestas is the 91625th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Ayestas surname appeared 201 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 Ayestas.

We can also compare 2010 data for Ayestas 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 Ayestas

The surname Ayestas is believed to have originated from the Basque Country, a region spanning parts of northern Spain and southern France. Its roots can be traced back to the early medieval period, around the 8th to 12th centuries CE.

One theory suggests that Ayestas is derived from the Basque word "aitze," meaning "wind" or "breeze," combined with the suffix "-eta," indicating a place or location. This could imply that the name originally referred to a windy or breezy area where the family may have resided or held land.

Another possible origin is that Ayestas is a locational surname, derived from a specific place name. In the Basque language, many place names end with the suffix "-eta," which could have been combined with a word like "ai" or "aia," meaning "rock" or "rocky." This would suggest the name originated from a rocky or mountainous area.

Early records of the Ayestas surname are scarce, as documentation from the medieval period in the Basque region is limited. However, some historical references can be found in various documents and manuscripts from the 14th century onwards.

One of the earliest recorded individuals with the surname Ayestas is Juan de Ayestas, a nobleman and landowner who lived in the late 15th century in the Navarre region of northern Spain. Another notable figure was María Ayestas, a Basque poet and writer born in 1592 in Bilbao, known for her contributions to Basque literature.

In the 17th century, Pedro de Ayestas (1610-1678) was a prominent Catholic priest and theologian from the Basque Country who authored several religious texts. Later, in the 18th century, Ignacio Ayestas (1725-1795) was a Spanish military officer and explorer who participated in expeditions to the Americas.

During the 19th century, Juana Ayestas (1818-1892) was a renowned Basque author and educator who wrote several books on Basque language and culture. She played a significant role in preserving and promoting the Basque heritage.

It's worth noting that the spelling of the surname may have varied slightly over time, with alternative forms such as Aiestas, Ayestes, or Aiestaran appearing in historical records from different regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Ayestas

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

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

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!